Diplodactylidae

Life in the slow and high lane: ecology of an alpine gecko (Mokopirirakau “Cascades”) in the Southern Alps | Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, Aotearoa New Zealand

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.