mccann's skink of open tussock and rocky ground

Size
Length: 12–18 cm
Lifespan
8–12 years
Diet
Insectivorous. Feeds on insects, spiders, wētā, and other small invertebrates. Also eats fruit and berries when available. A diurnal skink that basks in the sun on rocks and logs. Active during the day, particularly in the morning and late afternoon.
Habitat
Tussock grasslands, scrublands, rocky outcrops, coastal dunes, and riverbeds. Prefers open, sunny areas with plenty of rocks and logs for basking, and dense vegetation for cover. Often found in the high country, basking on schist rocks.
Range
Found throughout the South Island, from Marlborough to Southland. Most common in lowland and coastal areas, as well as in the high country. Absent from the West Coast and the highest alpine zones.
Endemism
Endemic
Main Threats
None significant. Localised threats include predation by introduced rats, cats, and hedgehogs, habitat loss from land development and farming, and climate change.
Population
A common and widespread skink found throughout the South Island. Has a distinctive striped pattern – brown to greyish-brown with darker stripes along the back and sides, and a pale belly. Diurnal, active during the day, often seen basking on rocks or logs. Common in tussock grasslands and rocky outcrops.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
The lizard of the South Island high country. A skink that loves the sun. McCann Skink has a love of open spaces and a talent for basking. At twelve to eighteen centimetres in length, it is a medium-sized skink, slender and agile, with brown to greyish-brown colouration and darker stripes along the back and sides. Belly is pale cream, eyes dark and watchful. A lizard that wears stripes. A skink of the sun and the rock. McCann Skink is diurnal, active during the day, and it basks on schist rocks and sun-warmed logs, soaking up the heat that will fuel its hunting. An agile forager, moving quickly across tussock grasslands and through rocky outcrops, searching for insects and spiders. Viviparous, giving birth to live young. Females produce three to six offspring each year, a relatively high reproductive rate that allows the species to recover quickly from disturbance. The young are born in late summer and are miniature versions of the adults, independent from birth. A generalist, able to live in a wide range of habitats – tussock grasslands, scrublands, rocky outcrops, coastal dunes, and riverbeds. Found under rocks, in log piles, in stone walls, and in the crevices of schist tors. Not threatened. Widespread and common in the South Island. Still vulnerable to predation by introduced rats, cats, and hedgehogs, and to habitat loss from land development and farming. The high country is open. The skink basks on a schist rock, stripes dark against grey stone, watching. The cat is not here today. The skink warms itself. It does not know it is common. It does not know it is vulnerable. It just wants to get warm. The sun is free. The skink takes it.