A new report assessing the conservation status of reptiles in Aoteroa has confirmed the discovery of four new lizard species.
Hura te ao gecko (Mokopirirakau galaxias) discovered in January 2018, scientifically described this year and listed for the first time in this assessment. It is listed as threatened -nationally endangered. Photo: Carey Knox
It also found nearly three quarters of the nation's reptiles were expected to decline over the next three generations due to increasing pressure from predators and habitat loss.
Department of Conservation scientist Jo Monks said funding from Budget 2018 targeted at data poor species, meant scientists had completed extensive survey work in the last five years and now had more information about lizards and their distribution.
The Department of Conservation report updated the threat classification status of New Zealand's 135 reptiles.
"The trends are getting a little bit worse for reptiles, we thought 46 per cent of the reptile species were declining five years ago and the figure is now around 70 per cent because of the range of threats that they face."
More data meant the status of nine species had improved, but 19 species were worse off and a sub-population of green skinks in the South Island had become extinct.
"We're particularly worried about mice, hedgehogs and wasps, for which we don't really have good predator control techniques or understanding about how they are impacting the reptiles," Monks said.
In 2018, scientists searching for Oteake skinks in Central Otago came across a gecko-patterned like a galaxy among the greywacke outcrops.
Previously undiscovered, the hura te ao gecko is one of four species in the report that are "new to science".
A rockhopper skink and alpine rock skink were also discovered in Otago along with the Kahurangi Skink in the Tasman district.
The tautuku gecko (Mokopirirakau "southern forest") jumped two levels from threatened - nationally endangered to at-risk - declining, based on several more populations being discovered over the last few years. Photo: Carey Knox
But the status of the rough gecko, a species endemic to Canterbury and Marlborough, has worsened in the last five years and is now considered nationally endangered, which means it faces a high risk of extinction in the short-term.
The report shows 10 skink species are now classed as nationally critical, which means they face an immediate risk of extinction.
University of Otago Zoology senior lecturer, Dr Stephanie Godfrey, said it was concerning a third of the reptile species in Aotearoa were classified as threatened.
"New Zealand isn't well known for its lizard fauna, but actually the size of the landmass and the nature of our climate - we have a really impressive diversity of lizards and I think what this report shows is that we need to really look at them more closely and look after them."
She said predators like cats and mice were "notoriously difficult" to control and not directly covered under the Predator Free 2050 vision, which meant lizards weren't afforded the same level of protection as other species.
Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research wildlife ecologist Grant Norbury said it was exciting to still be discovering new lizard species in Aotearoa.
"All the species here are endemic to New Zealand, you don't find them anywhere else and they've got very peculiar life histories, it's so cool.
"But at the same time, we've got these really significant pressures on their population and we're still trying to describe what we've got in the country, so we've we've got quite a problem."
He says the reptiles in Aotearoa were so unique, it was important to do whatever we could to protect them.