This species is listed as Least Concern because it is widespread and abundant, and it is present in many protected areas.

Geographical area

This species is native to New Caledonia where it occurs throughout Grande Terre, and on Iles Belep, Ile des Pins, Iles Loyauté (Maré, Lifou, Ouvéa) and many smaller satellite islands. It is also present in southern Vanuatu (south of Efate). It occurs at elevations up to 1,000 m.

Population

Very large areas of habitat for Caledoniscincus atropunctatus have been lost in the past from a variety of causes including forest clearance for agriculture, mining and wildfires, which may have impacted this lizard's population historically. Although habitat loss is ongoing, this is localized and at a greatly reduced rate, and this species can be abundant in some modified habitats (T. Whitaker pers. comm. 2012). Nonetheless, although there are no detailed data on population size and trends, the species remains very widespread and is generally abundant, and so the population is considered to be stable.

Habitat

This species occurs in a wide range of forested habitats including supralittoral vegetation, coastal forest, sclerophyll forest, lowland closed forest, and montane forest. It is also able to occupy highly modified habitats, including well-vegetated urban gardens. In Vanuatu it doesn't generally occur in heavily modified habitats (although it has been observed to be abundant in gardens in southern Tanna - T. Whitaker pers. comm. 2012), but does occur in secondary forest. It is diurnal, terrestrial and is active in sunlight. It shelters in litter, and basks and forages in sunlit patches.

Threats

This species is likely to be under some pressure from further loss and fragmentation of forest habitats, which is potentially a problem throughout the species' range and could result from a variety of factors including clearance for agriculture and afforestation, mining and wildfires. Introduced ungulates (deer and pigs) and, at some low-elevation sites, livestock are a threat through degradation of litter layers. In low and mid-elevation forests there is a potentially serious threat from the introduced ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, which is known to decimate lizard populations. Predation by introduced mammals (rodents and cats) is also of concern throughout this lizard's range (Thibault 2017, Palmas 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). It is present in most forested reserves throughout New Caledonia. It is not present in any protected areas in Vanuatu. No specific conservation management is currently being undertaken.

Bibliography

Bauer, A.M. and Sadlier, R.A. 2000. The Herpetofauna of New Caledonia.

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.

IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.

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.

Uetz, P. (ed.) 2017. The Reptile Database.

Sadlier, R.A, Bauer, A.M., Wood Jr., P.L., Smith, S.A. and Jackman, T.R. 2013. A new species of lizard in the genus Caledoniscincus (Reptilia: Scincidae) from southern New Caledonia and a review of Caledoniscincus atropunctatus (Roux). Zootaxa(3694) , p.501–524.

Sadlier, R.A, Bauer, A.M., Wood Jr., P.L., Smith, S.A. and Jackman, T.R. 2013. A new species of lizard in the genus Caledoniscincus (Reptilia: Scincidae) from southern New Caledonia and a review of Caledoniscincus atropunctatus (Roux). Zootaxa(3694) , p.501–524.

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.

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.

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): Warimavute, G., Tanguy, V., Lietar, J.