Taxonomie
Statut liste rouge -
En danger critique d'extinction (CR) , évaluée le 11/12/2017Espèce protégée -
en Province Sud , en Province Nord
Caledoniscincus constellatus is listed as Critically Endangered (criteria B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v)) because it is restricted to two locations severely fragmented in New Caledonia and there is a continuing decline in the area of occupancy (AOO) and extent and quality of habitat due to a variety of threats.
Aire géographique
Caledoniscincus constellatus is endemic to Province Nord in New Caledonia. It is known in two severely fragmented localities on Vavouto and Ouazangou massif. It occurs at low elevation in Vavouto and mid elevation in Ouazangou. The extent of occurrence (EOO) and the area of occupancy (AOO) are estimated at 8 km2.
Population
There is no information on population size or trends. It is presumed that development of a large nickel mine in the area has caused further habitat loss and led to a decline in the number of mature individuals, as well as severe fragmentation of the populations.
Habitat
This species occurs in disturbed and severely fragmented vegetation but there is a mixture of dense to open maquis and Acacia shrubland on the coastal hills and remnant sclerophyll forest in gullies. This site is unique of occurrence of sclerophyll forest on serpentine. The new species was found in both habitats and was syntopic with Caledoniscincus haplorhinus which was more abundant.
Menaces
Certaines sous-populations peuvent être directement impactées par l'activité minière: Ouazangou (NMC)
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 not present in any reserve and no species-specific conservation management is currently being undertaken.
Bibliographie
Jourdan, H., Brescia, F. and Vidal, E. 2014. Programme R_Mines.Impact des espèces invasives sur les communautés de reptiles des massifs miniers.
L'Huillier L.; Jaffré T. and Wulff A. 2010. Mines et Environnement en Nouvelle-Calédonie : les milieux sur substrats ultramafiques et leur restauration.
Sadlier, R.A., Whitaker, A.H., Wood Jr., P.L. and Bauer, A.M. 2012. A new species of scincid lizard in the genus Caledoniscincus (Reptilia: Scincidae) from northwest New Caledonia. Zootaxa(3229) , p.47–57.
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.
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.
IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.
Endemia.nc 2016. Faune et Flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Hély-Alleaume 2012. INC : Incendies et biodiversité des éco-systèmes en Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Uetz, P. (ed.) 2017. The Reptile Database.
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): Fleurot, D., Cassan, J., Jumel, M., Butin, J.
Facilitator(s): Warimavute, G., Tanguy, V., Lietar, J.