One 2009 study by Chapple, Ritchie and Daugherty, investigating “the origin and diversification” of New Zealand's skinks, produced a molecular phylogeny by analysing genetic sequences of all but one living species.

It suggested that all indigenous New Zealand skinks form a monophyletic group with a single ancestor, and that they initially arrived during the early Miocene era, by clinging to floating debris from New Caledonia.

[1] From this early colonisation they underwent adaptive radiation to fill a variety of ecological niches, spreading across New Zealand to form the numerous species known today.

[7] The copper skink occupies a range of habitats, from forested areas to urban gardens, sand dune ecosystems, and farm land.

In 2012 the Department of Conservation (DOC) classified the copper skink as Not Threatened under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

[9] In the early 1980s (when this species had unprotected status) about a dozen adult Copper Skinks were captured in a park near Tauranga and released in the Lynmore suburb of Rotorua where there was no natural population.

Despite a large domestic cat population the descendants of these relocated Copper Skinks are still present with juveniles regularly found at the original release site (most recent obs July 2020).