NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Open Bay Islands skink
Oligosoma taumakae Chapple & Patterson, 2007
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.
Distribution map of Oligosoma taumakae.
Michal Klajban · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Oligosoma taumakae, the Open Bay Island(s) skink, or Taumaka skink, is a species of skink. It was described from the Open Bay Islands, off the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
This species is diagnosed on the basis of several morphological characteristics, and its specific status is supported by mitochondrial sequence data (ND2, ND4). The new species appears to be most closely related to Oligosoma acrinasum, Oligosoma infrapunctatum, Oligosoma otagense and Oligosoma waimatense. Predation by a flightless rail, the weka, which is native to New Zealand, but was introduced to the Open Bay Islands, is a major conservation concern.
Until recently known only from the Open Bay Islands (both Taumaka and Popotai Islands), the species has subsequently been discovered on two apparently predator-free vegetated rock stacks located off the coast of Barn Bay, 52 km southwest of the Open Bay Islands.
Wikipedia contributors, Oligosoma taumakae; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:32:24.963396+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oligosoma taumakae Chapple & Patterson, 2007
- Name authority
- Chapple & Patterson, 2007
- Common name
- Open Bay Islands 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 taumakae Chapple & Patterson, 2007
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 |
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=taumakae 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:49788. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.