Barrier skink
Oligosoma judgei
- Critically endangered
- Card rarity: Legendary
- Reptiles
The Barrier skink is a species of medium-sized skink, a lizard in the subfamily Eugongylinae of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand, where it lives in the alpine habitat of the Darran and Takitimu Mountains of Fiordland. It is one of only two species of New Zealand skinks that live exclusively in the alpine zone, the other being the "Sinbad skink", Oligosoma pikitanga, a closely related species of similar appearance which is found in the same part of the South Island. The Barrier skink was first collected in the 1960s but was overlooked until rediscovery by a pair of mountain climbers in 2005; the species was scientifically described in 2009.
Classification
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Scincidae
- Genus
- Oligosoma