Lizard tales of Aotearoa
13 February 2025 - 13 February 2025
Region(s): wellington
Type(s): presentations
Aotearoa is home to some of the most colourful, diverse and fascinating lizards on the planet. Yet, as artists of stealth and camouflage, they have until recently existed under the radar.
Skinks
DR KELLY HARE
New Zealand skinks are quite unique, but skinks are world-wide. They live in all sorts of different habitats. They can be found on mountaintops – well, not right at the top, but close to the top of mountains – and they can be found down near the shore, they are found in forests and in open grasslands. They are found pretty much everywhere. But New Zealand skinks are quite unique.
Acknowledgement: University of Waikato
Join Zealandia for their next Conservation Kōrero where author Anna Yeoman will share stories and photographs from her recently released book, Geckos and Skinks: The Remarkable Lizards of Aotearoa, a collection of gripping tales about lizard discoveries, research, human drama and conservation in New Zealand.
This event will be held in the Pāteke Room in the Visitor Centre with light refreshments provided. Doors open at 5.45pm.
For more information and to book tickets: www.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/conservation-korero-lizard-tales-of-aotearoa/wellington.
Related content
For more – check out the Hub’s articles on Native skinks and geckos. Read the fascinating story of how an elusive new species of gecko was identified and named in 2023.
The try out these activities to improve your knowledge about these precious native species and then help provide a safe habitat for them.:
Observation: learning to see looks at the role of observation in science and gives students the opportunity to boost their observation skills.
Similarities and differences: skinks and geckos uses a Venn diagram to illustrate key characteristics and observations.
Create a lizard-friendly habitat provides students with ideas on how to attract skinks and geckos to the school grounds.
Citizen science
Skink Spotter NZ is an online citizen science project that identifies whether skinks are present in time-lapse image sequences. The information will inform scientists about the link between skink behaviour and weather conditions.