infrapunctatum "cobble") in the family Scincidae is a skink species endemic to New Zealand, found only on a single small stretch of stony beach at Granity, on the West Coast.
[3][4] Cobble skinks are small (60–65 mm snout–vent length) lizards that resemble speckled skinks: medium brown above, with a darker central stripe bordered by lighter spots, dark brown stripes on a cream background along their sides with lighter notches and flecks, and a murky yellow underbelly varyingly spotted with black.
They inhabit deep cobblestones just above the high-tide mark,[5] at the point where the native groundcover pohuehue (Muehlenbeckia complexa) meets the beach.
At the time of its discovery, the cobble skink was locally very abundant, but cryptic and seldom coming into the open.
[7] Given the likelihood of storms in the winter of 2016 completely destroying the last of their habitat, the New Zealand Department of Conservation captured as many skinks as possible and housed the entire population – possibly the entire species – at Auckland Zoo, until they could be returned to a suitable coastal habitat.