A new, enigmatic species of black-eyed gecko (Reptilia: Diplodactylidae: Mokopirirakau/) from North Otago, New Zealand.

The New Zealand endemic gecko genus, Mokopirirakau, is notable for its ecology, with some species inhabiting extreme alpine environments, as well as for the large number of geographically circumscribed, species-level lineages awaiting formal description. In, 2018, a population superficially similar in colour and morphology to the black-eyed gecko (M. kahutarae) was discovered in alpine greywacke rock outcrops in the Oteake Conservation Park, North Otago, ~400 km south of the nearest M. kahutarae populations in the upper South Island. Genetic and morphological data indicate that this population is distinct, sister to a clade comprising M. granulatus and M. kahutarae. It can be distinguished from all but one Mokopirirakau species by colour pattern, and from M. kahutarae by smaller adult body size, eye and supraciliary characters, mouth and throat colour, ventral scale row count, tail length, toe shape, and lamellar count. Using an integrated taxonomic approach, we here formally describe this form as a new species, M. galaxias sp. nov., as well as discuss its ecology, likely distribution (particularly with respect to M. kahutarae), and potential conservation issues and requirements. Mokopirirakau galaxias sp. nov. should be considered "Threatened-Nationally Endangered" (qualifiers Data Poor) in the New Zealand Threat Classification System due to the low abundance and restricted known distribution, with potential threats from invasive predatory mammals and climate change. It should be considered Data Deficient in the IUCN Red List system.

Lost and Found: Taxonomic revision of the speckled skink (Oligosoma infrapunctatum; Reptilia; Scincidae) species complex from New Zealand reveals a potential cryptic extinction, resurrection of two species, and description of three new species.

New Zealand has a diverse skink fauna, comprising 45 described native species, and at least 15 undescribed taxa, within the single genus Oligosoma Girard, 1857. One of the earliest described, and best known, species is the speckled skink, Oligosoma infrapunctatum (Boulenger 1887). Despite a relatively stable taxonomic history for nearly 114 years, recent molecular work has indicated that O. infrapunctatum represents a species complex, comprising numerous genetically divergent, range restricted taxa. We completed the first stage of a taxonomic revision of O. infrapunctatum, conducting a morphological re-evaluation of existing voucher material, and newly collected specimens, and generated a molecular phylogeny for the species complex. This allowed us to distinguish six species: O. infrapunctatum, two species resurrected from synonymy (O. newmani, O. robinsoni), and three new species (O. salmo sp. nov., O. albornense sp. nov. O. auroraensis sp. nov.). The name bearing type population of O. infrapunctatum has not been located again for at least 130 years: it remains to be rediscovered and may already be extinct. Two of the six species here are considered 'Nationally Critical' (O. albornense sp. nov., O. salmo sp. nov.) under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, the others are Nationally Vulnerable (O. auroraensis sp. nov.) and At Risk-Relict (O. newmani, O. robinsoni). Further taxonomic work will be required to determine the taxonomy of other speckled skink genetic lineages in the South Island, particularly O. aff. infrapunctatum "cobble", O. "Hokitika", O. "Southern North Island" and O. "Westport".

The diversity and evolution of nematodes (Pharyngodonidae) infecting New Zealand lizards.

Host-parasite co-evolutionary studies can shed light on diversity and the processes that shape it. Molecular methods have proven to be an indispensable tool in this task, often uncovering unseen diversity. This study used two nuclear markers (18S rRNA and 28S rRNA) and one mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) marker to investigate the diversity of nematodes of the family Pharyngodonidae parasitizing New Zealand (NZ) lizards (lygosomine skinks and diplodactylid geckos) and to explore their co-evolutionary history. A Bayesian approach was used to infer phylogenetic relationships of the parasitic nematodes. Analyses revealed that nematodes parasitizing skinks, currently classified as Skrjabinodon, are more closely related to Spauligodon than to Skrjabinodon infecting NZ geckos. Genetic analyses also uncovered previously undetected diversity within NZ gecko nematodes and provided evidence for several provisionally cryptic species. We also examined the level of host-parasite phylogenetic congruence using a global-fit approach. Significant congruence was detected between gecko-Skrjabinodon phylogenies, but our results indicated that strict co-speciation is not the main co-evolutionary process shaping the associations between NZ skinks and geckos and their parasitic nematodes. However, further sampling is required to fully resolve co-phylogenetic patterns of diversification in this host-parasite system.

Understanding publication bias in reintroduction biology by assessing translocations of New Zealand's herpetofauna.

The intentional translocation of animals is an important tool for species conservation and ecosystem restoration, but reported success rates are low, particularly for threatened and endangered species. Publication bias further distorts success rates because the results of successful translocations may be more likely to be published than failed translocations. We conducted the first comprehensive review of all published and unpublished translocations of herpetofauna in New Zealand to assess publication bias. Of 74 translocations of 29 species in 25 years, 35 have been reported in the published literature, and the outcomes of 12 have been published. Using a traditional definition of success, publication bias resulted in a gross overestimate of translocation success rates (41.7% and 8.1% for published and all translocations, respectively), but bias against failed translocations was minimal (8.3% and 6.8%, respectively). Publication bias against translocations with uncertain outcomes, the vast majority of projects, was also strong (50.0% and 85.1% for published and all translocations, respectively). Recent translocations were less likely to be published than older translocations. The reasons behind translocations were related to publication. A greater percentage of translocations for conservation and research were published (63.3% and 40.0%, respectively) than translocations for mitigation during land development (10.0%). Translocations conducted in collaboration with a university were more frequently published (82.7% and 24.4%, respectively). To account for some of this publication bias, we reassessed the outcome of each translocation using a standardized definition of success, which takes into consideration the species' life history and the time since release. Our standardized definition of translocation success provided a more accurate summary of success rates and allows for a more rigorous evaluation of the causes of translocation success and failure in large-scale reviews.