New Zealand has a large number of reptiles including skinks (Cyclodina and Oligosoma), geckos (Naultinus and Hoplodactylus), frogs (Leiopelma) and tuatara (Sphenodon).

I've worked on all of these during my MSc and currently in my PhD. So what makes them odd? Well the frogs and the tuatara are unique, the frogs are the most archaic in the world (narrowly beating Ascaphus in the USA) and tuatara are quite similar to Sphenodontians that lived some 230 million years ago.

New Zealand has had an interesting geological history since its separation from Gondwanaland 80 million years ago, and to understand the uniqueness of our flora and fauna its worth having a quick look at my summary of what's happened. note to self: must write something here :-)

For these reasons I've decided to devote a little webspace to all four groups including some pictures and a little information. If you want to know more feel free to drop me an email.