Taxonomy
Common name :
Le scinque brillant de Deplanche
Deplanche's Shiny Skink Red List Status -
Least Concern (LC) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Southern Province , in Northern Province
Sigaloseps deplanchei is listed as Least Concern because it is widespread in the southern part of Grande Terre with an extent of occurrence is estimated at 1,712 km2 and the area of occupancy at 252 km2 and it is not seriously threatened.
Geographical area
This species is endemic to Province Sud in New Caledonia. It is widespread in the southern part of Grande Terre. It occurs at elevations of up to 1,000 m. The extent of occurrence is estimated at 1,712 km2 and the area of occupancy at 252 km2.
Population
There are no quantitative data on population size and trends for this species, but it can occur at very high population densities in favourable habitats. It is presumed to have suffered a substantial reduction in area of occupancy as a result of the past widespread clearance of closed forest habitat for settlement, agriculture, afforestation and mining. Substantial areas of habitat have also been lost as a consequence of repeated wildfires. These impacts are ongoing.
Habitat
This species occurs primarily in forested habitats including humid forest or canopied maquis (maquis preforestier and maquis paraforestier), extending into adjacent low-canopied maquis, open maquis or even wetland maquis where a suitably moist environment exists at ground level.
Threats
There is no significant serious threats to this species. Although predation by introduced mammals (rodents, cats, dogs and pigs) is an ever-present risk and general forest habitat is degraded due to invasive species and wildfires
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 Parc Provincial de la Rivière Bleue and a number of other reserves in the south including Barrage de Yaté, Pic du grand Kaori, Bois du Sud, Chutes de la Madeleine, Cap N'dua, Foret Nord, Montagne des sources, Vallée de la Thy. No active conservation management is currently being undertaken.
Bibliography
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.
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.
Sadlier, R.A, Bauer, Wood Jr., P.L., Smith, S.A., Whitaker, A.H., Jourdan, H. and Jackman, T.R. 2014. Localized endemism in the southern ultramafic bio-region of New Caledonia as evidenced by the lizards in the genus Sigaloseps (Reptilia: Scincidae), with descriptions of four new species. Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle(206) , p.79-113.
Sadlier, R.A, Bauer, Wood Jr., P.L., Smith, S.A., Whitaker, A.H., Jourdan, H. and Jackman, T.R. 2014. Localized endemism in the southern ultramafic bio-region of New Caledonia as evidenced by the lizards in the genus Sigaloseps (Reptilia: Scincidae), with descriptions of four new species. Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle(206) , p.79-113.
Sadlier, R.A. and Bauer, A.M. 1999. The Scincid Lizard Genus Sigaloseps (Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific: Description of a New Species and Review of the Biology, Distribution and Morphology of Sigaloseps deplanchei (Bavay). Records of the Australian Museum(51) , p.83-91.
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.