Taxonomy
Common name :
Le scinque à gorge marbrée de montagne
Montane Marble-throated Skink Red List Status -
Endangered (EN) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Southern Province , in Northern Province
Marmorosphax montana is listed as Endangered because it has a restricted distribution with an estimation of four locations with a continuing decline in the area of occupancy (AOO), extent and quality of habitat and the number of mature individuals. Mining activities and habitat degradation by invasive species are the main threats.
Geographical area
Marmorosphax montana is endemic to Province Sud, New Caledonia. It is known from four localities in the ultramafic massif from Mount Ouin to Thio. The extent of occurrence (EOO) is estimated at 614 km2 and the area of occupancy (AOO) at 40 km2.
Population
There are no quantitative data on population size and trends. Marmorosphax montana is uncommon at the first location it was found (Mont Ouin) and fewer than ten specimens had been seen. It has since been found in three new localities. It is presumed to have suffered a reduction in population size and extent resulting from past destruction of its montane forest habitat from mining activities (clearing for access roads) and from wildfires encroaching from adjacent maquis shrubland.
Habitat
Marmorosphax montana inhabits high-elevation closed forest. This skink is cryptic and shelters beneath rocks and piles of earth on the forest floor or in crevices in and around road cuts (Sadlier and Bauer 2000). This species is viviparous (R. Sadlier pers. comm. 2010).
Threats
The main threats to Marmorosphax montana are the habitat loss and degradation from the mining activity, intensifying in the nearby Tontouta Valley system, and from introduced ungulates (deer and pigs) which threaten habitat quality, particularly by damaging the litter layer. Predation by rodents (Thibault 2017) and cats (Palmas 2017) is also an issue.
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). Not listed on CITES. It is present in Réserve de Nature de la Forêt de Saille but no conservation management is currently being undertaken.
Bibliography
Endemia.nc 2016. Faune et Flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Hallé N.; Aubréville A.; Leroy J. F.; 1977. Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et dépendances. Volume 08 : Orchidaceae.
Morat, P.; Jaffré, T.; Tronchet, F.; Munzinger, J.; Pillon, Y.; Veillon, J.-M. and Chalopin, M. 2012. Le référentiel taxonomique Florical et les caractéristiques de la flore vasculaire indigène de la Nouvelle-Calédonie [The taxonomic database « FLORICAL » and characteristics of the indigenous flora of New Caledonia]. Adansonia sér 3(34) , p.177-219.
Experts
Assessor(s): Laudereau, C., Butin, J., Antheaume, C., Cazé, H., Cazé, H., Fleurot, D., Garnier, D., Gâteblé, G., Maura, J.
Reviewer(s): Tanguy, V.
Facilitator(s): Maura, J., Tanguy, V.