NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Alan's Skink
Oligosoma alani (Robb, 1970)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Oligosoma alani, (formerly Cyclodina alani), also known as the robust skink, is the largest endemic skink to New Zealand. The robust skink is in the family Scincidae and found in the protected nature reserves of the Mercury Islands in the North Island of New Zealand. The robust skink has an at risk - recovering conservation status.
Wikipedia contributors, Robust skink; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:55:41.988403+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oligosoma alani (Robb, 1970)
- Name authority
- (Robb, 1970)
- Common name
- Alan's Skink
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Oligosoma
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyScincidae
- subfamilyEugongylinae
- genusOligosoma
- speciesOligosoma alani (Robb, 1970)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Oligosoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fiordland SkinkOligosoma acrinasum (Hardy, 1977) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Grand SkinkOligosoma grande (Gray, 1845) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hardy’s SkinkOligosoma hardyi (Chapple, Patterson, Bell & Daugherty, 2008) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Slight SkinkOligosoma levidensum (Chapple, Patterson, Bell & Daugherty, 2008) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Canterbury spotted skinkOligosoma lineoocellatum (Duméril, 1851) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| MacGregor's SkinkOligosoma macgregori (Robb, 1975) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oligosoma nigriplantare (Peters, 1874) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oligosoma northlandi (Worthy, 1991) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otago SkinkOligosoma otagense (Mccann, 1955) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sinbad skinkOligosoma pikitanga Bell & Patterson, 2008 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Southern grass skinkOligosoma polychroma (Patterson & Daugherty, 1990) | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eyres skinkOligosoma repens Chapple, Bell, Chapple, Miller, Daugherty & Patterson, 2011 | ScincidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Leiolopisma alani Robb, 1970 Robb, 1970 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Oligosoma&species=alani Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4976W. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.