Southern Alps gecko
Woodworthia “Southern Alps”
At Risk - Declining
Among New Zealand’s most resilient and delicately patterned rock-dwelling reptiles, the Southern Alps gecko or Woodworthia “Southern Alps” is a striking and locally endemic species found only in the Eastern South Island’s high-country, from the southern banks of the Rakaia River through to northern Otago.
Quick Facts:
- This gecko grows to a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of up to around 72 mm, with the tail being equal to or slightly longer than the body.
- The dorsal surface is typically grey-brown, olive or pinkish-grey, variably marked with pale blotches or bands (striping is rare). Many individuals show a prominent canthal stripe (nostril-to-eye). Vermal surface is light brown. Eye colour ranges from grey to green.
- These geckos are primarily terrestrial and saxicolous (rock-dwelling), and generally nocturnal (active at night) though they are occasionally seen basking during the day.
- They inhabit stable scree slopes, wide river-terraces, shattered rock outcrops and sub-alpine to alpine rock habitat – and have been found up to about 1,800 m above sea level.
- Females give birth to live young (viviparous), typically producing twin offspring in late summer; in high altitude populations breeding may be biennial.
Protecting the Southern Alps gecko means preserving intact sub-alpine and alpine rocky ecosystems – especially scree slopes, boulderfields, river terraces and outcrops across the eastern high country of the South Island. It also requires controlling introduced mammalian predators (such as rats, stoats, cats) and preventing habitat disturbance from fire and land-use change.
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Lizards