Atlas species information

Habitat

• Dry rocky areas, particularly rock piles, boulder tumbles and eroding river terraces, in tussock grassland.
• Diurnal, avid sun-basker.
• Not particularly abundant.
• Lives among rocks at ground level.

Description

• Back grey to grey-brown with somewhat indistinct paler and darker spots and flecks, and rarely a rudimentary dark mid-dorsal stripe.
• Sides with broad dark-brown stripe above (bordered by thin pale, notched stripes) and below this, grey with dark flecks.
• Undersurface grey with dark speckles.
• Measures up to 67 mm from snout tip to vent.
• Toes and tail very long.

Distribution

• Inland Marlborough and Canterbury.
• Of sparse occurrence.

Notes

• The scientific name means 'long toes'.
• Notes about NZ threat classification (Hitchmough 2002): Waimakariri, Arthurs Pass.
• Notes about 2008-10 cycle of NZ threat classification for Reptiles (Hitchmough et al 2010): As for southern sp.
• Notes about 2012-14 cycle of NZ threat classification for Reptiles: (Hitchmough, et al.
• 2012): Few recent surveys, none found.
• Generally few, scattered records.
• One stronghold population.
• Assuming only north of the Clarence catchment.
• Fewer than 15 sub-populations known, none known to contain more than 500 mature individuals.
• Decline predicted at 10-30% over 3 generations.