Wildlife of Zealandia
A guide to the mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles, insects and other creepy crawlies commonly found in Zealandia - Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, Wellington, New Zealand.
Common Green Gecko
The Wellington green gecko, Naultinus elegans punctatus, is a subspecies of gecko found only in the southern half of the North Island of New Zealand. The other subspecies, the Auckland green gecko, is found in the northern half of the North Island (except north of Whangaroa) and the two ranges do not overlap.
Geckos
The Gekkonidae are the largest family of geckos consisting of over 950 described species in 51 genera. Many "typical" geckos are members of the Gekkonidae including house geckos (Hemidactylus), tokay geckos (Gekko gecko), and day geckos (Phelsuma). Species of Gekkonidae occur globally and are particularly species-rich in tropical areas.
Tuatara
The tuatara is a reptile that is endemic to New Zealand and which, though it resembles most lizards, is part of a distinct lineage, order Rhynchocephalia. The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of its order, which flourished around 200 million years ago. Their most recent common ancestor with any other extant group is with the squamates (lizards and snakes). For this ...more ↓
Skinks
Oligosoma is a genus of small to medium-sized skinks (family Scincidae). It is found only in New Zealand and in the Norfolk and Lord Howe groups. It belongs to the Eugongylus group; the genus Bassiana appears to be a fairly close relative (Austin & Arnold 2006).
