Is that a gecko or skink? Here are 3 tips to help you tell apart New Zealand’s endemic lizards (excluding tuatara, which is another reptile).
I bet that most of the time when people think of the natural world of New Zealand they picture amazing landscapes, flightless birds, or possibly weta. One of the remarkable classes of animals that doesn’t get as much attention, possibly due to their cryptic nature, are the lizards. The country is home to around 90 species of lizards, comprised of geckos and skinks. These two can be easily distinguished by following these simple tips.
New Zealand’s Lizards Are Truly Unique
The native lizards of the land of the long white cloud have evolved into a truly unique collection of animals. All of the native geckos in the country are endemic and all but one of the skinks are endemic, meaning they can be found nowhere else in the world.
Here are two of the many ways they are unique. These lizards differ from other lizards in that they give birth to live young as opposed to laying eggs. They are also very long living, some of them live up to 40 years or longer compared to lizards in other parts of the world that live to 5 or 10 years.
Gecko or Skink – 3 Tips To Tell Them Apart
Body
The first tip to tell if you are looking at a gecko or skink is to simply look at the body of the lizard. A skink body is narrow, thin and snakelike. At first glance it may look like a tiny snake or large worm.
In contrast, a gecko body is wider, sometimes bulging towards the middle.
Eyes
The next tip to tell if the animal is a gecko or skink is to look at the eyes. The eyes of a gecko are quite large, almost appear bulging out of the head.
In contrast the eyes of a skink are smaller. One other interesting fact about the eyes is that a skink’s eyes have eyelids and they can blink, but a gecko has no eyelids and must lick it’s eyes to keep them moist.
Legs
Look at the legs of the lizard. If it is easy to see and the legs are obvious then you are looking at a gecko.
On the other hand if the legs are tiny and hard to see then you are looking at a skink.