Atlas species information
Introduction
Detailed species information from your search of the Atlas.- Scientific name:
- Mokopirirakau "Cupola"
- Common name:
- Cupola gecko
- Naming authority:
- N/A
- Bio status category:
- Indigenous (Endemic)
- IUCN threat status:
- ** Not Classified **
- NZ threat classification:
- Data Deficient
Refer to www.doc.govt.nz/nztcs for NZ threat classification system details.
Cupola gecko
Habitat
- The specimen was found in a scrubby boulder field above the tree line.
Description
- The small juvenile specimen is dark grey-brown with bright grey chevron markings and scattered spots of mustard-yellow.
- Undersurface speckled.
- Mouth lining bright orange.
- Eye grey-brown.
- Size of adults unknown (probably about 70-85 mm from snout tip to vent).
Distribution
- Know from a small juvenile in one location, found by John Pearson who was researching red deer based at the DSIR/NZFS hut in Cupola Basin.
- It was found by day in a scrubby boulder-field not far above the hut.
- Not known to co-exist with other members of the Mokopirirakau granulatus species complex but range appears to come close to that of the Northern Forest gecko.
Notes
- Moko-piri-rakau is the Maori name for forest gecko.
- Could be a distinct species, or perhaps a form of the Okarito or Southern North Island forest geckos.
- Extensive searches of the area in 2006 failed to detect any geckos.
- Notes about 2008-10 cycle of NZ threat classification for Reptiles (Hitchmough et al 2010): 2 individuals known, taxonomic distinctiveness yet to be confirmed.
- Notes about 2012-14 cycle of NZ threat classification for Reptiles: (Hitchmough, et al.
- 2012): No new data.
Statistical information and distribution map
| Before 1988 | Since 1988 | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Specimen | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 |
Live or dead specimen or shed skin
Bone or fossil
