Taxonomy
Common name :
Le scinque de litière de Koumac
Koumac Litter Skink Red List Status -
Endangered (EN) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Southern Province , in Northern Province
This species is listed as Endangered because it is known from fewer than five isolated locations and it has a restricted extent of occurrence and area of occupancy. Its habitat is under constant threat from wildfires and introduced ungulate, and invasive species are also a constant threat.
Geographical area
This species is endemic to Province Nord, New Caledonia. It is restricted to lowland sites on the northwest of Grande Terre between Rivière Nehoué and Pouembout. It occurs at elevations up to 300 m. The extent of occurrence is estimated at 242 km2 and the area of occupancy at 24 km2.
Population
There are no quantitative data on population size and trends for this species. It is assumed to have suffered a significant reduction in population size and extent in the past from habitat loss and degradation resulting mostly from clearance of the west coast lowland forests for agriculture and grazing, and habitat loss from clearance and wildfires is continuing. Caledoniscincus auratus is still locally common at sites where good habitat remains.
Habitat
This species inhabits sclerophyll and lowland closed forest, sheltering in litter, and basking and foraging in sunlit patches. It is diurnal, terrestrial, and is active in sunlight.
Threats
The greatest threat to this species is further habitat loss and fragmentation that is expected to come from forest clearance for agriculture and from wildfires. Additional threats include habitat degradation from livestock and introduced ungulates (deer and pigs) which damage the litter layer, predation by introduced mammals such as rodents and cats (Thibault 2017, Palmas 2017), and the potentially serious effect of high-density populations of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata.
Conservation
Protected in Province Nord under Code de l'environnement de la Province Nord (Délibération No. 306-2008/APN, 24 October 2008) and in Province Sud under Code de l'environnement de la Province Sud (Délibération No. 25-2009/APS, 20 March 2009). This species is not present in any reserves. No specific conservation management is currently being undertaken but the species may benefit from the removal of livestock and introduced ungulates from the sclerophyll forest at Forêt Tia.
Bibliography
Uetz, P. (ed.) 2017. The Reptile Database.
Sadlier, R.A., Bauer, A.M. and Colgan, D.J. 1999. The scincid lizard genus Caledoniscincus (Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific: a review of Caledoniscincus austrocaledonicus (Bavay) and description of six new species from Province Nord. Records of the Australian Museum(51) , p.57-82.
Jourdan, H., Sadlier, R.A. and Bauer, A.M. 2001. Little Fire Ant Invasion (Wasmannia auropunctata) as a threat to New Caledonian lizards: Evidences from a sclerophyll forest (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology(38) , p.283-301.
Jourdan, H., Sadlier, R.A. and Bauer, A.M. 2000. Premières observations sur les conséquences de l’invasion de Wasmannia auropunctata 1863 (Roger) sur les prédateurs supérieurs dans les écosystèmes Néo-calédoniens. Actes des collectes insectes sociaux(13) , p.121-126.
Bauer, A.M. and Sadlier, R.A. 2000. The Herpetofauna of New Caledonia.
IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.
Experts
Assessor(s): Sadlier, R., Bauer, A., Jourdan, H., Astrongatt, S., Deuss, M., Duval, T., Bourguet, E., McCoy, S., Bouteiller, A., Lagrange, A.
Reviewer(s): Cox, N.
Contributor(s): Whitaker, A.
Facilitator(s): Tanguy, V., Warimavute, G., Lietar, J.