Taxonomy
Red List Status -
Vulnerable (VU) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Southern Province , in Northern ProvinceSigaloseps balios is listed as Vulnerable (D2) because of its extremely restricted distribution. Its area of occupancy being estimated to 4 km2, the potential impact of invasive species may provoke in the future a rapid decline in the quality of habitat.
Geographical area
Sigaloseps balios is endemic to Province Sud in New Caledonia. It is known only from high-elevation habitat on the summit area of Mt Humboldt in the interior ranges of southern Grande Terre. The extent of occurrence (EOO) and the area of occupancy (AOO) are estimated at 4 km2.
Population
There is no information on population size or trends.
Habitat
The holotype was collected from dense, low maquis shrubland adjacent to high-elevation humid forest and the paratypes from just inside high-elevation moss forest at its upper altitudinal limit. However, it is important to note that the species was not encountered in the interior of the moss forest despite extensive sampling under optimal conditions over an altitudinal range of 1,250–1,390 m.
Threats
Although this species does not seem directly threatened, the main plausible threats to Sigaloseps balios may come in the future from the predation pressures by the introduced mammals such as feral pigs, feral cats (Palmas, 2017) and rodents (Thibault 2017).
Conservation
This species is 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 present in the Réserve Naturelle du Mont Humboldt but no species-specific conservation management is currently being undertaken. It would be wise to monitor the habitat trends and the invasive species pressure.
Bibliography
Sadlier, R.A, Bauer, Wood Jr., P.L., Smith, S.A., Whitaker, A.H., Jourdan, H. and Jackman, T.R. 2014. Localized endemism in the southern ultramafic bio-region of New Caledonia as evidenced by the lizards in the genus Sigaloseps (Reptilia: Scincidae), with descriptions of four new species. Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle(206) , p.79-113.
Thibault, M., Brescia, F., Vidal, E. and Jourdan, H. 2017. Invasive rodents, an overlooked threat for skinks in a tropical island hotspot of biodiversity. New Zealand Ecological Society(41) , p.74-83.
Sadlier, R.A, Bauer, Wood Jr., P.L., Smith, S.A., Whitaker, A.H., Jourdan, H. and Jackman, T.R. 2014. Localized endemism in the southern ultramafic bio-region of New Caledonia as evidenced by the lizards in the genus Sigaloseps (Reptilia: Scincidae), with descriptions of four new species. Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle(206) , p.79-113.
Jourdan, H., Brescia, F. and Vidal, E. 2014. Programme R_Mines.Impact des espèces invasives sur les communautés de reptiles des massifs miniers.
IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.
Uetz, P. (ed.) 2017. The Reptile Database.
Palmas, P., Jourdan, H., Rigault, F., Debar, L., De Meringo, H., Bourguet, E., Mathivet, M., Lee, M., Adjouhgniope, R., Papillon, Y. and Bonnaud, E. 2017. Feral cats threaten the outstanding endemic fauna of the New Caledonia biodiversity hotspot. Biological Conservation(214) , p.250-259.
Endemia.nc 2016. Faune et Flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie.
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): Cassan, J., Butin, J., Fleurot, D., Jumel, M.
Facilitator(s): Lietar, J., Warimavute, G., Tanguy, V.