The Barrier skink (Oligosoma judgei) is a species of medium-sized skink, a lizard in the subfamily Eugongylinae of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand, where it lives in the alpine habitat of the Darran and Takitimu Mountains of Fiordland. It is one of only two species of New Zealand skinks that live exclusively in the alpine zone, the other being the "Sinbad skink", Oligosoma pikitanga, a closely related species of similar appearance which is found in the same part of the South Island. The Barrier skink was first collected in the 1960sJewell, Tony (2008). A Photographic Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand. (Photographs by Rod Morris). New Zealand: New Holland Publishers. 144 pp. . but was overlooked until rediscovery by a pair of mountain climbers in 2005; the species was scientifically described in 2009.
Etymology The specific name, judgei, is in honor of Bronwyn Judge and Murray Judge, two New Zealand rock climbers who discovered this skink on Barrier Knob.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Oligosoma judgei, p. 137).
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of O. judgei is rocky areas of grassland, at altitudes of .
Description The holotype of O. judgei, an adult male, has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , but females may grow to SVL.
Behavior Oligosoma judgei is terrestrial, saxicolous, diurnal, and heliothermic.
Reproduction Oligosoma judgei is viviparous. www.reptile-database.org.
Conservation status The conservation status of this species, O. judgei, was thought to be secure, primarily because invasive mammalian predator populations could not become established in the harsh climate of the high alpine zone where they lived and also, because vast areas of undisturbed habitat remain intact.Patterson, Geoff B.; Bell, Trent P. (2009). "The Barrier skink, Oligosoma judgei n. sp. (Reptilia: Scincidae) from the Darran and Takitimu Mountains, South Island, New Zealand". Zootaxa 2271: 43-56. However, in 2012 the Department of Conservation reclassified the Barrier Skink as Nationally Endangered under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
References
External links
Images of the Barrier skink
Further reading van Winkel D, Baling M, Hitchmough R (2020). Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand: A Field Guide. Princeton Field Guides. London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi, Sydney: Bloomsbury Wildlife. 368 pp. .