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.

[9] Copper skinks are viviparous, and mate in spring before giving birth to between 3-7 relatively large offspring in late summer.

[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).