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 small invertebrates. Also eats fruit and berries. Diurnal forager active in morning.
- Habitat
- Tussock grasslands, scrublands, rocky outcrops, coastal dunes, and riverbeds. Prefers open sunny areas with rocks for basking and vegetation for cover.
- Range
- Found throughout South Island from Marlborough to Southland. Common in lowland, coastal, and high country areas. Absent from West Coast.
- Endemism
- Endemic
- Main Threats
- Localised threats include predation by introduced rats, cats, and hedgehogs. Habitat loss from land development and farming. Climate change.
- Population
- Not Threatened. Common and widespread skink found throughout South Island. Distinctive striped pattern. Diurnal, active during day on rocks.
- Conservation Status
- Not Threatened
- Human Risk
- harmless
- Handling Note
- protected native skink, do not handle or disturb to prevent stress
- Conservation Note
- Endemic skink widespread in alpine and subalpine habitats in the South Island.
- Assessment
- NZTCS Reptiles and Amphibians (2021)
- Te Ao Māori
- In Māori tradition, McCann Skink was a creature of tussock and rock. A kaitiaki (guardian) of high country. Striped pattern seen as tracks of ancestors crossing land. Not a common food source, but its presence noted as sign of healthy landscape. A place where sun could warm rocks and lizards could bask in peace.
It loves the sun. Oligosoma maccanni has a talent for basking. At twelve to eighteen centimetres in length, it is a medium-sized skink. Slender and agile. Brown to greyish-brown colouration features darker stripes along back and sides. Belly is pale cream. Eyes are dark and watchful. A lizard that wears stripes.
A skink of the sun and the rock. McCann Skink is diurnal, active during the day. It basks on schist rocks and sun-warmed logs, soaking up heat that fuels its hunting. An agile forager, moving quickly across tussock grasslands and through rocky outcrops. Searching for insects and spiders. Found under rocks, in log piles, in stone walls, and crevices of schist tors. Absent from West Coast and highest alpine zones.
Viviparous, giving birth to live young. Females produce three to six offspring each year. A relatively high reproductive rate that allows species to recover quickly from disturbance. Young are born in late summer and are miniature versions of adults. Independent from birth. A quick return. A short wait.
Not threatened. Widespread and common in South Island. Still vulnerable to predation by introduced rats, cats, and hedgehogs. Habitat loss from land development and farming compounds pressure. Climate change affects coastal and lowland habitats.
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.