Oligosoma nigriplantare (Peters, 1874)

Open encyclopedia reference

Oligosoma nigriplantare, the Chatham Islands skink, is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. It is the sole reptile species found on the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, where it occurs on all the major islands except Chatham Island itself. Given the geological history of the Chatham Islands, it is assumed that O. n. nigriplantare previously occurred on Chatham Island; however, there are no fossil records or historical reports of O. n. nigriplantare on Chatham Island. Since O. n. nigriplantare is almost locally extinct on Pitt Island as a result of introduced mammals, the presence of introduced mammals on Chatham Island might have resulted in the local extinction of O. n. nigriplantare. On vegetated islands, O. n. nigriplantare inhabits grassland and shrub habitat, but it also occurs on marine rock stacks with sparse vegetation. Substantial morphological variation (body size, colour and colour pattern) is evident within O. n. nigriplantare, potentially indicating morphological evolution following its colonization of the Chatham Islands. Indeed, O. n.

Wikipedia contributors, Oligosoma nigriplantare; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:39:58.067956+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Oligosoma nigriplantare (Peters, 1874)

Name authority

(Peters, 1874)

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderAutarchoglossa
11. familyScincidae
12. subfamilyEugongylinae
13. genusOligosoma
14. speciesOligosoma nigriplantare (Peters, 1874)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Oligosoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 1,330 records assigned to Scincidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Oligosoma&species=nigriplantare 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.

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:4977P. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.