alpine zone

Alpine regions worldwide support diverse, endemic, and specialised fauna, yet knowledge of the basic ecology of many species is lacking and urgently required for management. Aotearoa New Zealand’s lizards (geckos and skinks) are no exception: of at least 33 species that occur in the alpine zone, ≥ 90% are currently Threatened or At Risk of extinction. Here, we focus on the Cascade gecko: a cryptic and viviparous species found in the Southern Alps | Kā Tiritiri o te Moana in the South Island.

New Zealand’s mountainous environments support unique flora and fauna specially adapted to the extreme cold and harsh conditions of the alpine zone. The orange-spotted gecko (Mokopirirakau “Roys Peak”) is a rare undescribed gecko that is currently known only from the alpine zone of Otago. The species was discovered in 1998 and is only known from the Central Otago and Queenstown-Lakes districts, with populations spanning a ~3000 km2 area.