Taxonomy
Common name :
Le scinque à lèvres blanches de Vivienne
Red List Status -
Critically Endangered (CR) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Southern Province , in Northern Province
Lioscincus vivae is listed as Critically Endangered because it has a very restricted distribution, its habitat is severely fragmented, and there is continuing decline in its area of occupancy, the extent and quality of its habitat and the number of mature individuals. The species faces a high level of threat from intensive and ongoing mining activity. Invasive species and wildfires are additional threats.
Geographical area
This species is endemic to Province Nord, New Caledonia. It has been recorded only from the Kopéto–Paéoua massif on the central west coast of Grande Terre. It occurs at elevations between 500 and 1,000 m. The extent of occurrence and the area of occupancy are estimated to be 36 km2.
Population
There are no quantitative data on population size and trends for this species. It is presumed there has been a significant reduction population size and extent as a result of habitat loss associated with mining. It is also likely that maquis shrubland habitats have been degraded by wildfires although the impact of this have been compensated to some extent by these fires opening up montane closed forests.
Habitat
This species inhabits maquis shrubland, open forest, and the margins of closed forest. It is diurnal, terrestrial and is active in sunlight. It shelters beneath stones and logs; basks and forages on the ground.
Threats
The greatest threats to Lioscincus vivae are the immediate loss of habitat resulting from the expansion of the nickel mines on the Kopéto–Paéoua massif, the loss and the degradation of habitats from wildfires and ungulates (deers and pigs, Jourdan 2014). The predation pressure from feral cats (Palmas 2017) is also of concern.
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. Patches of humid forest on ultramafic substrates should be protected in province Nord, as on Paéoua massif which hosts lots of threatened species.
Bibliography
Jourdan, H., Brescia, F. and Vidal, E. 2014. Programme R_Mines.Impact des espèces invasives sur les communautés de reptiles des massifs miniers.
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.
Uetz, P. (ed.) 2017. The Reptile Database.
Sadlier, R.A., Bauer, A.M., Shea, G.M. and Smith, S.A. 2015. Taxonomic resolution to the problem of polyphyly in the New Caledonian scincid lizard genus Lioscincus (Squamata: Scincidae). Records of the Australian Museum(67) , p.207-224.
Sadlier, R.A., Bauer, A.M., Whitaker, A.H. and Smith, S.A. 2004. Two New Species of Scincid Lizards (Squamata) from the Massif de Kopéto, New Caledonia. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences(55) , p.208-221.
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): Tanguy, V., Warimavute, G., Lietar, J.