Nicola Toki

An extremely rare critter this week, found only on one site! Only found on the limestone outcrops of the Waitaki Valley.  Audio

Our Critter of the Week is the Homer grasshopper (Sigaus homerensis), New Zealand's nationally critical grasshopper.  Audio

Our Critter of the Week is the Nelson Green Gecko - one of our rarest animals, found only in the Nelson area from the south of the Bryant Range, westwards of the main divide, to the Murchison District… Audio

Nicola Toki's critter of the week is the Blue damselfly (Austrolestes colensonis), which is the smaller cousin of the dragonfly. The males are blue and the females are a greener shade. Audio

In today's session with DoC's Nicola Toki we discuss the Flax Weevil (Anagotus fairburni). Audio, Gallery

DoC's threatened species ambassador Nicola Toki is here to talk about this mysterious skink, which lives its entire life in its canopy above our heads, making it very difficult to find and protect. Audio

DoC's Threatened Species Ambassador, Nicola Toki tells us about this species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. the Pitt Island Longhorn Beetle Audio

The Horrid Stick Insect is a member of the phasmatidae family, which contains some of the largest insects in existence, some being up to 30cm long Audio

DoC's Threatened Species ambassador, Nicola Toki introduces us to a new critter of the week - the native New Zealand sandfly. Audio

This week's critter is the exceptionally rare nocturnal Whittakers Skink, which can live 10 times longer than most tropical lizards. Audio

This is one of Nicola Toki's favourite critters as you can see! DoC's threatened species ambassador tells us all about this giant weta, Deinacrida heteracantha ('terrible grasshopper').  Audio

We kick off Critter of the Week 2019 with a Zombie-like cicada killing fungus. Audio

In our final Critter of the week for 2018 we bring you the Amelotopsis mayfly! Audio, Gallery

The Alborn Skink. Discovered in the 1990s by famous herpetologist Anthony Whitaker (who died in 2014), in among other emerging research about skinks.  Audio

The brightly coloured Notoreas Moth is endemic to New Zealand and flies around during the day. DoC's threatened species ambassador, Nicola Toki tells us all about it. Audio

They might be called mudfish but are often found buried in the ground as they can survive out of the water! DoC's threatened species ambassador tells us all about this native fish. Audio

This fresh water snail is endemic to NZ. In fact it's endemic to the Maitai Cave in Maitai Valley in Nelson. Audio

Pill millipedes are shorter and wider than other millipedes - living in the soil/leaf litter, they don't travel above or below it, but instead bulldoze through it with their robust bodies! Audio, Gallery

Most species of fungi live as independent organisms, but some are 'lichenised' and most of these cannot survive independently of a partner, such as an alga or blue/green alga (cyanobacterium).  Audio, Gallery