@article{4b5269eaa0fe45a5a4c97ed7495cd2db,
title = "Oligosoma aureocola sp. nov. (Reptilia: Scincidae) from the northern Southland high country of Aotearoa/New Zealand",
abstract = "A species of diurnal skink from the Mataura Range and Mid Dome in central northern Southland, Aotearoa/New Zealand is described as Oligosoma aureocola sp. nov. It is a small species, coloured mid- to dark brown with smooth longitudinal stripes, and lives along rocky alpine ridges, low-stature shrublands, and tussock grasslands. This skink is a conspicuous species, easily sighted basking and foraging in talus or alpine plants such as golden spear grass (Aciphylla aurea).",
keywords = "alpine, lizard, Mataura skink, Murihiku, New Zealand, Oligosoma aureocola sp. nov, Reptilia, Scincidae, Southland",
author = "Carey Knox and Patterson, {Geoffrey B.} and Chapple, {David G.}",
note = "Funding Information: Advances in our knowledge of this species has been made during the course of four lizard research expeditions into the Mataura Range and Mid Dome in 2017 (funded by the Central Otago Ecological Trust, COET) and 2022 (funded by the Department of Conservation). The authors thank Samuel Purdie (Herpetologist and student at Otago University) for his contribution to field work on Mid Dome. We thank Karina Sidaway (DOC) for acquiring legal permission to collect the voucher specimens for the taxonomic description. We are very grateful to Colin Miskelly (Curator Terrestrial Vertebrates, Te Papa) and Thomas Schultz (Te Papa) for access to voucher materials held in Te Papa, and Jean-Claude Stahl (Te Papa) for photographing the type specimen. We also thank EcoGene Limited for generating the genetic data used herein, which DC analysed and constructed the phylogenetic tree. The type specimens were collected under Wildlife Act Authority 72460-FAU and AEC (animal ethics) Approval 410 from the Department of Conservation. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2023 Magnolia Press.",
year = "2023",
month = may,
day = "16",
doi = "10.11646/zootaxa.5285.2.3",
language = "English",
volume = "5285",
pages = "271--292",
journal = "Zootaxa",
issn = "1175-5326",
publisher = "Magnolia Press",
number = "2",
}