Rare species of skink discovered by cat in Taranaki

The 7-10cm-long coffee-coloured skink is believed to be a kakerakau. Photo / RNZ / Supplied

By Robin Martin for RNZ

In a case of ‘look what the cat dragged in’, a rare native skink has been discovered in Taranaki, and may even be a completely new species.

Whangamōmona sheep and beef farmer Amanda Harris said she did not think much of it when her tomcat Rusty brought in the reptile.

“This cat’s got a particular meow when he’s got something, so when he brought it in, I saw it and it slithered across the carpet, and that’s what caught my eye. So, I immediately picked it up, put in a box and contacted the Taranaki Regional Council to ID it,” Harris said.

The 7-10cm-long coffee-coloured skink is believed to be a kakerakau.

A kakerakau was caught on film in the Whirinaki Forest in the central North Island in 2003, but no more were ever discovered there. A decade later, a population was found in a small area of forest at Bream Head in Northland.

Harris said the Taranaki specimen chose the right feline to become entangled with.

“The cat that brought it in is not much of a hunter. He’ll gather, but he won’t really eat anything, so to speak, so he chose the right cat.”

The Kakerakau skink was last caught on film in 2003. Photo / RNZ / Supplied

Taranaki Regional Council senior ecologist Halema Jamieson said as news filtered back about the lizard - which was in good condition and was eventually released back into the bush - she immediately knew it was a significant find.

“One of our biodiversity officers went out to have a look and said, ‘Oh, that’s interesting’, and sent me some photos, and I got super excited because it looked like something I’d never seen before, and so I sent off the photos to some people who might know some more and it came back as quite possibly a kakerakau skink.

“That’s super exciting, because the only other place this lizard is known to be from is up near Bream Head near Whangārei, and before that only one other specimen had been found, in the middle of the North Island at Whirinaki, and that was back in 2003.

“So, potentially it’s one of those species, or it could be something completely new,” she said.

Jamieson said it has always been thought the skink might range as far south as Taranaki because of the habitat it favoured elsewhere, and this find could mean there were more populations out there.

“It’s quite likely there are other undiscovered populations of them, and given if they are still living in large old forest growth in the central North Island, there’s an awful lot of undiscovered territory in there, and who knows what might turn up.”

The Kakerakau skink. Photo / RNZ / Supplied

The kakerakau was a handsome coffee colour with light tan stripes down its side and a distinctive teardrop marking under the eyes, and it was feisty to boot.

“It was poised up and very cheeky, looking up at the camera, and [it] wasn’t afraid of me at all. Very quick, good at climbing and very good at jumping. Very alert, and very aware of who I was and what I was doing,” she said.

Jamieson said a sample had been taken from the tip of the skink’s tail to be sent off for DNA testing to confirm whether it was a kakerakau or some new species altogether.

“Even if it’s not a brand-new species and is the same as is found up at Bream Head, that’s still super exciting, because that’s over 500 kilometres between the two known populations, and given that it hadn’t been recognised before 2003, this is entirely exciting. It’s essentially a new species that’s turned up on our doorstep.”

Reptilian fact file

• Native lizards are extremely rare on mainland New Zealand, mostly due to predation from rats, mice, stoats and cats.
• New Zealand lizards can be hard to spot and are often very secretive and well-camouflaged, so all lizard sightings are important - they might even be a new species.
• New lizard species are still being discovered in New Zealand. In 1955 there were 32 recognised native lizards (skinks and geckos), in 2009 there were 99, and in 2022 there were 125.
• There are currently 11 lizard species in Taranaki - but now, maybe it’s 12!

If you find a lizard, report your sighting to the Department of Conservation (DoC), your regional council, or record it on iNaturalist or online.