Taxonomy
Common name :
Bavayia orné
Ornate Bavayia Red List Status -
Critically Endangered (CR) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Southern Province , in Northern Province
This species is listed as Critically Endangered because it occurs in a single location on the Mont Panié massif and there is continuing decline in the extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, extent and quality of habitat and number of mature individuals.
Geographical area
Bavayia ornata is endemic to Province Nord, New Caledonia. It is known only from one massif in the north of Grande Terre—Mt Panié. It occurs at elevations between 400 m and 1,000 m. The extent of occurrence and the area of occupancy are estimated to be 8 km².
Population
There are no data on population density or trends for Bavayia ornata. It is presumed to have suffered some reduction in range and population size as a result of habitat loss on the lower slopes of the Panié massif through wildfires and clearance for agriculture.
Habitat
Bavayia ornata inhabits closed humid forests at mid-elevation and montane forests. It is nocturnal, arboreal or terrestrial on rock faces. It shelters by day beneath stones and logs and at night it climbs into subcanopy trees and shrubs or forages on rock faces.
Threats
The greatest threats to Bavayia ornata are the pressures by the introduced ant, Wasmania auropunctata, who have a severe impact as it is known to decimate lizard populations (Jourdan et al. 2000, 2001), the habitats degradation by introduced pigs and the predation by rodents. Other threat is probably the predation by feral cats.
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 present in the Réserve de Nature Sauvage du Mt Panié. No conservation management is currently being undertaken but this species may potentially benefit from proposed predator control in the La Guen catchment on Mt Panié.
Bibliography
Bauer, A.M. and Sadlier, R.A. 2000. The Herpetofauna of New Caledonia.
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.
IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.
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): Whitaker, A.
Facilitator(s): Lietar, J., Warimavute, G., Tanguy, V.