NEW ZEALAND THREAT CLASSIFICATION SERIES 17 Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2015 Rod Hitchmough, Ben Barr, Marieke Lettink, Jo Monks, James Reardon, Mandy Tocher, Dylan van Winkel and Jeremy Rolfe Each NZTCS report forms part of a 5-yearly cycle of assessments, with most groups assessed once per cycle. This report is the first of the 2015–2020 cycle. Cover: Cobble skink, Oligosoma aff.infrapunctatum “cobble”. Photo: Tony Jewell. New Zealand Threat Classification Series is a scientific monograph series presenting publications related to the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). Most will be lists providing NZTCS status of members of a plant or animal group (e.g. algae, birds, spiders). There are currently 23 groups, each assessed once every 3 years. After each three-year cycle there will be a report analysing and summarising trends across all groups for that listing cycle. From time to time the manual that defines the categories, criteria and process for the NZTCS will be reviewed. Publications in this series are considered part of the formal international scientific literature. This report is available from the departmental website in pdf form. Titles are listed in our catalogue on the website, refer www.doc.govt.nz under Publications, then Series. © Copyright December 2016, New Zealand Department of Conservation ISSN 2324–1713 (web PDF) ISBN 978–1–98–851400–0 (web PDF) This report was prepared for publication by the Publishing Team; editing and layout by Lynette Clelland. Publication was approved by the Director, Terrestrial Ecosystems Unit, Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. Published by Publishing Team, Department of Conservation, PO Box 10420, The Terrace, Wellington 6143, New Zealand. In the interest of forest conservation, we support paperless electronic publishing. CONTENTS Abstract 1 1. Summary 2 2. Conservation status of all known reptile taxa in New Zealand, 2015 5 2.1 Taxonomically determinate 5 Extinct (2) 5 Data Deficient (0) 6 Threatened (22) 6 Nationally Critical (2) 6 Nationally Endangered (6) 6 Nationally Vulnerable (14) 7 At Risk (31) 8 Declining (12) 8 Recovering (4) 9 Relict (10) 9 Naturally Uncommon (5) 9 Non-resident Native (8) 10 Migrant (2) 10 Vagrant (6) 10 Coloniser (0) 10 Not Threatened (6) 11 Introduced and Naturalised (1) 11 2.2 Taxonomically indeterminate 11 Extinct (0) 11 Data Deficient (7) 11 Threatened (15) 12 Nationally Critical (6) 12 Nationally Endangered (2) 12 Nationally Vulnerable (7) 12 At Risk (21) 12 Declining (15) 12 Recovering (0) 13 Relict (1) 13 Naturally Uncommon (5) 13 Non-resident Native (0) 13 Migrant, Vagrant, Coloniser (0) 13 Not Threatened (4) 13 3. Acknowledgements 13 4. References 14 Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2015 Rod Hitchmough1, Ben Barr2, Marieke Lettink3, Jo Monks4, James Reardon5, Mandy Tocher6, Dylan van Winkel7 and Jeremy Rolfe1 1 Science & Policy Group, Department of Conservation, PO Box 10420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand [email protected] 2 NorthTec, Applied and Environmental Sciences, Private Bag 9019, Whangarei 0110, New Zealand 3 Fauna Finders, Corsair Bay, Christchurch 8082, New Zealand 4 Science & Policy Group, Department of Conservation, PO Box 5244, Dunedin 9058, New Zealand 5 Science & Policy Group, Department of Conservation, PO Box 29, Te Anau 9640, New Zealand 6 Wildland Consultants Ltd, 764 Cumberland Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand 7 Bioresearches Group Ltd, Level 4, 68 Beach Road, Auckland 1010, New Zealand Abstract The conservation status of all known New Zealand reptile taxa was reassessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). A full list is presented, along with a summary and brief notes on the most important changes since the last assessment (2012). This list replaces all previous NZTCS lists for reptiles. Keywords: New Zealand Threat Classification System, NZTCS, conservation status, gecko, skink, tuatara, turtle, sea snake, Diplodactylidae, Scincidae, Sphenodontidae, Cheloniidae, Dermochelyidae, Hydrophiidae, Laticaudidae © Copyright December 2016, Department of Conservation. This paper may be cited as: Hitchmough, R.; Barr, B.; Lettink, M.; Monks, J.; Reardon, J.; Tocher, M.; van Winkel, D.; Rolfe, J. 2016: Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2015. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 17. Department of Conservation, Wellington. 14 p. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 17 1 1. Summary This report on the conservation status of New Zealand reptiles (including marine migrant and vagrant species and introduced species) is the latest update in a regular series of re-assessments (Hitchmough 2002; Hitchmough et al. 2007, 2010, 2013). All known native lizard and tuatara taxa have been included in each of the re-assessments, with turtles and sea snakes added from 2010. In this report 117 taxa are assessed, up from 109 in 2013. Their conservation status was assessed using the criteria of Townsend et al. (2008). The categories, criteria and process were identical over this and the 2010 and 2013 assessments, and the majority of panel members (the authors of Hitchmough et al. 2010, 2013 and this document) were the same. The 117 taxa assessed included 49 unnamed entities (42% of the total, and 46% of the 106 native lizards, the group to which all the undescribed entities belong). For most of these entities we have a high level of confidence in their validity, on the basis of DNA sequence comparisons and morphological descriptions in preparation (Hitchmough et al. unpubl. data; Patterson et al. pers. comm.). However, a handful of recent discoveries are much more poorly known and require further work to confirm their validity as distinct taxa. They are included here as a precautionary measure, to help vindicate any efforts to aid their conservation before the necessary taxonomic work is done. Seven lizard taxa have been added to the list since the publication of Hitchmough et al. (2013). All are either new discoveries (T. Jewell pers. comm.; D. van Winkel unpubl. data) or proposed new splits of previously known taxa as a result of taxonomic work in progress (G. Patterson & S. Meltzer pers. comm.). Circumscriptions of other taxa have also changed as a result of the proposed splits. These changes, plus a name change that has occurred between the current and Hitchmough et al. (2013) assessments, are summarised in Tables 1a and 1b. Table 1a. New names and a changed name affecting New Zealand reptile species between the publication of Hitchmough et al. (2013) and this document. NAME IN HITCHMOUGH ET AL. (2013) NAME IN THIS DOCUMENT Not listed Oligosoma aff. inconspicuum “North Otago” Not listed Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “Alborn” Not listed Oligosoma sp. “Homer Tunnel” Not listed Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “Westport” Not listed Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “cobble” Not listed Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “Hokitika” Not listed Woodworthia aff. maculata “Muriwai” Oligosoma aff. ornatum "Poor Knights" Oligosoma roimata Patterson, Hitchmough & Chapple, 2013 Table 1b. Changed circumscriptions of species listed under a broader concept in Hitchmough et al. (2013). NAME IN HITCHMOUGH ET AL. (2013) CHANGE TO CIRCUMSCRIPTION Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “Chesterfield” Now includes Chesterfield population only; Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “Alborn” listed separately Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “Southern North Island” Now includes North Island populations only; Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “Westport” listed separately Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “crenulate” Now includes North Island populations only; Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “cobble” and Oligosoma aff. infrapunctatum “Hokitika” listed separately A summary of the numbers of taxa in each conservation status category in Hitchmough et al. (2013) is compared with numbers from the current assessment in Table 2. A complete list of taxa with their updated status, qualifiers, and the criteria that were triggered to place the taxon into its respective category, is presented in Table 3. 2 Hitchmough et al.—Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2015 Table 2. Statistical summary of the status of New Zealand reptile species assessed in 2012 (Hitchmough et al. 2013) and 2015 (this document). CATEGORY HITCHMOUGH ET AL. (2013) THIS DOCUMENT Extinct 2 2 Data Deficient 4 7 Threatened—Nationally Critical 3 8 Threatened—Nationally Endangered 10 8 Threatened—Nationally Vulnerable 19 21 At Risk—Declining 26 27 At Risk—Recovering 4 4 At Risk—Relict 11 11 At Risk—Naturally Uncommon 9 10 Non-resident Native—Migrant 2 2 Non-resident Native—Vagrant 6 6 Not Threatened 13 10 Introduced and Naturalised 1 1 Total 110 117 Since the Hitchmough et al. (2013) assessment, the number of Threatened species (Nationally Critical, Nationally Endangered and Nationally Vulnerable combined; Townsend et al. 2008) has risen from 32 to 37, and the number of Nationally Critical species from three to eight. The Nationally Critical taxa assessed in Hitchmough et al. (2013) have all remained Nationally Critical. Three of the additional five taxa that are now considered Nationally Critical are new listings which had not been assessed previously, and have apparently very small populations and areas of occupancy. Two species have moved from other conservation status categories. The Whirinaki skink (Oligosoma “Whirinaki”), previously known only from video of a single individual, was moved from Data Deficient to Nationally Critical as a result of the discovery of a small population near Whangarei, c. 350 km north of the Whirinaki record