Hardy's skink

Hardy's skink, Cyclodina hardyi, is a species of skink of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Poor Knights Islands of New Zealand.

Etymology

The specific name, hardyi, is in honor of Kiwi herpetologist Graham S. Hardy.^[2]

Geographic range

C. hardyi occurs on Tawhiti Rahi Island, Aorangi Island, Aorangaia Island, Archway Island, and two rock stacks (Stack “B,” Stack “C”).

Taxonomy

C. hardyi closely resembles the copper skink, Cyclodina aenea, and was considered to be a member of this species until recently when it was described as a new species using morphological, allozyme and DNA methods (Chapple et al. 2008). More recently, the genus Cyclodina was merged with the genus Oligosoma (Chapple et al. 2009), resulting in a new combination for this species, Oligosoma hardyi.

Habitat and behaviour

It is most commonly found in areas where there is ground cover near flax and scrub habitat. It is crepuscular, seeking refuge during the day under stones or thick vegetation.

Description

Cyclodina hardyi can be distinguished from all other Cyclodina species, including the other members of the C. aenea species complex, by having suboculars three and four separated by the fifth supralabial under the eye. In addition, the midbody scale count is greater than that of the slight skink (Oligosoma levidensum) from the Te Paki region.

References

Further reading

• Chapple DG, Patterson GB, Bell TP, Daugherty CH. (2008). Taxonomic Revision of the Copper Skink (Cyclodina aenea, Squamata, Scincidea) Species Complex with descriptions of two new species. Journal of Herpetology 42 (3): 437 – 452. (Cyclodina hardyi, new species).
• Chapple DG, Ritchie PA, Daugherty CH. (2009). Origin, diversification, and systematics of the New Zealand skink fauna (Reptilia: Scincidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 52 (2): 470-487. (Oligosoma hardyi, new combination).

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