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New Zealand Lizards pp 87–108Cite as

Putting a Name to Diversity: Taxonomy of the New Zealand Lizard Fauna

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Abstract

The New Zealand lizard fauna is limited to two families, diplodactylid geckos and Eugongylinae skinks. Although its higher-level taxonomic diversity is limited, each family is highly speciose (61 extant skink and 43 extant gecko species). New Zealand lizards are characterised by their ecological, rather than morphological, diversity, which has impeded attempts to delineate and describe species. Numerous species have experienced substantial range reductions following human settlement and the introduction of mammalian predators, whilst others have naturally restricted distributions. Both of these factors have influenced the rate of species discovery and description. However, the implementation of molecular approaches into taxonomic studies has led to an almost threefold increase (38 to 104 extant species) in the number of lizard species recognised. Unfortunately, there remains a large gap between the number of species or taxa recognised in New Zealand and the number that have been formally described (only 55 % of recognised species have been described). Here we provide an overview of the taxonomic history of New Zealand skinks and geckos, outlining the major lineages within each family and providing justification and explanations for the undescribed entities that are recognised. We outline how an integrated morphological and molecular approach can increase the rate of both lizard species discovery and description in New Zealand.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Daugherty and P. Ritchie for the advice and assistance during this project. DGC’s New Zealand lizard taxonomic work was funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution. The Marsden Fund provided financial support for preliminary gecko work by RAH. and C. Daugherty.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Conservation, 10-240, Wellington, New Zealand

    Rodney A. Hitchmough

  2. 149 Mairangi Road, Wilton, Wellington, New Zealand

    Geoffrey B. Patterson

  3. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    David G. Chapple

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  1. Rodney A. Hitchmough
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  2. Geoffrey B. Patterson
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  3. David G. Chapple
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Correspondence to David G. Chapple .

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  1. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    David G. Chapple

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Hitchmough, R.A., Patterson, G.B., Chapple, D.G. (2016). Putting a Name to Diversity: Taxonomy of the New Zealand Lizard Fauna. In: Chapple, D. (eds) New Zealand Lizards. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41674-8_4

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