Taxonomy
Common name :
Le scinque de litière de Chazeau
Chazeau's 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 has a restricted distribution (extent of occurrence estimated at 630 km2 and area of occupancy at 24 km2), the known subpopulations are small and isolated, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of habitat. The subpopulations near Hienghène have undergone substantial declines recently and all threatening processes are ongoing at all locations.
Geographical area
This species is endemic to Province Nord, New Caledonia. It is known only from five locations, some near the north-east coast and some else on the central range, from Forêt Plate to Koulnoue. It occurs at elevations up to 900 m. The extent of occurrence is estimated at 630 km², and the area of occupancy at 24 km².
Population
There are no quantitative data on population size and trends for this species. There has presumably been a significant reduction in population size and extent from past habitat loss and degradation as a consequence of wildfires and the clearance of low and mid-elevation closed forests for agriculture, and at higher levels on Tchingou for mining. The impacts of clearance and wildfires are ongoing. The subpopulations near Hienghène appear to have declined markedly in the past decade but that on Tchingou is locally common.
Habitat
This species inhabits closed forests; near Hienghène the sites are on forested lowland karst outcrops; at Tiwaka, Amoa and Forêt Plate they are closed humid forest on metamorphics; and at Tchingou it is montane forest on ultramafics. It is diurnal, terrestrial, and is active in sunlight. It shelters in litter and beneath stones and logs; basks and forages in sunlit patches.
Threats
The greatest threats to this species are the loss and habitat loss or degradation from wildfires and the introduced deer, the predation from feral cats (Palmas 2017), rodents (Thibault 2017) and also the serious effect of high-density populations of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata.
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 not present in any reserves and no conservation management is currently being undertaken. Additional taxonomic studies are recommended for clarification.
Bibliography
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.
Uetz, P. (ed.) 2017. The Reptile Database.
IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.
Bauer, A.M. and Sadlier, R.A. 2000. The Herpetofauna of New Caledonia.
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.
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.
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.
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.