New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts
Natural history of the lizards of the Three Kings Islands, New Zealand
G. R. Parrish
Department of Conservation
P. O. Box 147
Whangarei, New Zealand
B. J. Gill
Auckland Museum
Private Bag 92 018
Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract The herpetofauna of the Three Kings Islands
comprises one gecko (Hoplodactylus aff. H. pacificus) and four
skinks (Cyclodina ornata, Oligosoma fallai, O. smithi,
and O. suteri). Great, North East, and South West Islands have all
five species, and the other islands and islets each have 2-4 species. Hoplodactylus
aff. H. pacificus and O. suteri have the widest distribution
(10 islands each) followed by O. fallai on nine islands. The lizard
fauna is relatively depauperate, probably because of the islands’ degree
and length of isolation. O. fallai, endemic to the Three Kings group,
is mostly diurnal but also active at night. Specimens of Hoplodactylus
aff. H. pacificus collected from the Three Kings Islands were significantly
larger on average (82.1 mm) than specimens of H. pacificus from elsewhere
(69.1 mm) and may constitute an endemic subspecies or species. Specimens
of O. suteri had a maximum snout-vent length of 126 mm on the Three
Kings group, compared with 108 mm elsewhere. There was no sexual dimorphism
in snout-vent length in Hoplodactylus aff. H. pacificus, O.
fallai, and O. suteri. Specimens of O. fallai from forest
were significantly larger on average than those from scrub, which were in
turn larger than those from coastal sites. In both Hoplodactylus aff.
H. pacificus and O. fallai there was evidence that not all
mature females bred every year, consistent with a trend towards low annual
reproductive rates among New Zealand lizards.
Keywords reptile; gecko; skink; distribution; trapping;
measurements; weights; gonad cycles; endemicity
Z02019 Received 2 August 2002; accepted 17 February 2003; Online publication
date 8 September 2003
New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 2003, Vol. 30: 205-220
0301-4223/03/3003-0205 $7.00/0 © The Royal Society of New Zealand
2003
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