Aotearoa New Zealand is a land of reptiles.

Our terrestrial (land-based) reptiles include one tuatara species and 126 species of native lizard. All are found nowhere else on Earth!

Lizards are a diverse group of wildlife worldwide, but in Aotearoa New Zealand there are only two families – skinks and geckos. These two families, however, have a remarkable number of species for a small country with a mild climate.

Although tuatara superficially look like a medium-sized lizard, they are in fact the only living member of the order Rhynchocephalia, a group of animals that were ecologically diverse during the Mesozoic, alongside dinosaurs. A wealth of evidence shows that Rhynchocephalia are the closest living relatives of Squamata (lizards and snakes), and that the two groups diverged about 250 million years ago. Therefore, humans are more closely related to kangaroos, for example, than the tuatara is to a lizard! 

We only have nine marine reptiles that naturally occur in Aotearoa New Zealand’s waters - five honu/sea turtles and four sea snakes and kraits. However, they breed in other parts of the world, like Australia or New Caledonia, mostly being migrants or vagrants.

Otago’s remarkable reptiles

In Otago we have 34 species of reptiles: one tuatara species, 18 skink species, 13 gecko species, and two marine honu/sea turtle species. Seven of our lizard species are regional endemics, meaning they are only found in Otago.

Two reptile species have gone extinct in Otago (mokomoko a tohu/tohu gecko and tuatara), although tuatara have been reintroduced to a sanctuary in Otago (Orokonui Ecosanctuary - Te Korowai o Mihiwaka).

Otago is home to 31 lizard species, making it a diverse region for lizards in Aotearoa New Zealand.

To celebrate our lizard species, we worked with Tūhura Otago Museum and reptile biologists Samuel Purdie from Southern Lakes Sanctuary, Carey Knox from Southern Scales and the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka to produce a series of infographic factsheets.

These factsheets provide information for each lizard species on how to identify them, where to find them and what they eat, and their main threats and conservation status. They are suitable for all ages and are available for download. Please feel free to share these around and print them out to raise awareness about Aotearoa New Zealand’s lizards.

In Māori tradition, lizards can be important kaitiaki and can also carry ill omens. Many iwi believe reptiles to be descendants of Punga, a son of Tangaroa, the atua or deity of the ocean, having travelled with Tangaroa to the ocean when he fled following the separation of Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother.

Otago is home to the world’s southernmost population of free-roaming tuatara.

To raise awareness of tuatara and the reintroduced population at Orokonui Ecosanctuary – Te Korowai o Mihiwaka, near Ōtepoti Dunedin, we worked with Tūhura Otago Museum and reptile biologists Samuel Purdie from Southern Lakes Sanctuary and Alison Cree from the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka to produce an infographic fact sheet. We are grateful to Ngāti Koata, kaitiaki (guardians) of Takapourewa tuatara where individuals from the reintroduced population was sourced, and Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, mana whenua of the recipient location at Orokonui Ecosanctuary – Te Korowai o Mihiwaka.

This educational resource provides information on how to identify tuatara, what they eat, and their main threats and conservation status.

Tuatara are of great cultural significance to Māori and are viewed as the kaitiaki (guardians) of knowledge by some iwi.