Speckled Skink

The speckled skink (Oligosoma infrapunctatum) is a taxonomic mystery: it was described in 1887, but no living population is currently known to belong to this name and the place its original specimen came from is uncertain. Because no living animal can be matched to the name, there are no reliable field marks. The many speckled skinks that live in the wild today belong to related forms that have been separated from it, such as Newman’s speckled skink.

Its original locality is not securely known, so the present-day range is unknown.

Speckled skink is Data Deficient (NZ Threat Classification), listed as known from a single location and possibly extinct. It may be a threatened species awaiting rediscovery, or it may already be gone. It cannot be seen. Speckled skinks found in the field are almost always one of the related forms, not this species.