There are 123 currently recognized species of reptiles and amphibians to be found in New Zealand. Of these, an astonishing (well, it was to me, at least) 64 are of the family Scincidae – the skinks. All but one of these – the introduced and now established Rainbow Skink – are of the genus Oligosoma and are endemic. With the island’s geckos (all species of which are also endemic), this remarkable assortment of skinks comprises the entirely of the lizard species to be found in Aotearoa.