Nelson Nature Fix
11 November 2019
Welcome to the Nelson Nature Fix - a regular snippet about Nelson's natural environment, and what we can do to look after it. If you know anyone who you think might enjoy getting a regular nature fix, please pass this on and encourage them to sign up. You can read back issues here.
Not all Lizards are Lovely (but some are...)
If you're lucky you'll have common skinks hiding under the rocks in your garden. The local Nelson variety is the Northern grass skink, Oligosoma polychrome.
But these lovely little beasties are under threat from the rainbow or plague skink, Lampropholis delicata; an Australian species that’s found its way across the Tasman and is now a pest in the North Island.
Plague skinks are hitchhikers in building materials, plant pots and landscaping materials, and have even been found in mussel spat rope. As the name suggests, the rainbow skink has rapidly reached ‘plague-like’ proportions throughout much of the North Island where it competes with our native skinks for food and habitat.
Adult plague skink. Image: Tony Whitaker | Creative Commons
There have been recent sightings in Marlborough, and we want to make sure that any found here in Nelson are dealt with quickly so they don't get established.
How to identify a plague skink
They are small lizards, measuring about 3-4 cm long from nose to hind legs excluding the long thin tail. The skink is brown or grey-brown with a dark brown stripe down each side, and an iridescent rainbow or metallic sheen when seen in bright light.
Although the adults are smaller than native skinks, they look very similar but have a distinctive feature that makes it easier to recognise them. Plague skinks have one large scale on the top of their head, whereas New Zealand native skinks have two smaller scales. You'll find a good identification guide here
If you see a lizard that could be a plague skink or suspect people of trading them as pets, call the 24-hour DOC hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) or MPI Biosecurity (0800 809 966) immediately.
If possible, take a photo to help with obtaining the correct identification.
You can find out more about Nelson's lizards here.
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