Taxonomy
Red List Status -
Endangered (EN) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Northern ProvinceKanakysaurus zebratus is listed as Endangered because it has a restricted distribution and there is continuing decline in its area of occupancy, extent and quality of its habitat and the number of mature individuals. This species has very high ongoing level of threat from active mining at both known locations. It is also at risk from wildfires and potentially from invasive species.
Geographical area
This species is endemic to Province Nord, New Caledonia. It is known only from two localities on the ultramafic massifs of Kopéto–Paéoua and Koniambo on the central west coast of Grand Terre. It occurs at elevations from 100 to 900 m. The extent of occurrence is estimated at 250 km2 and the area of occupancy at 52 km2.
Population
There is no information on population size and trends for Kanakysaurus zebratus but at some locations it appears to be moderately common. It is assumed to have undergone a substantial reduction in area of occupancy and total population size as a result of the past widespread habitat removal by mining. Substantial areas of habitat have also been badly affected by repeated wildfires in maquis shrubland.
Habitat
This species inhabits low to mid-elevation closed forest, mid-elevation Gymnostoma forest, and mid- to high elevation maquis shrublands. Sites are invariably on boulder surfaces (either laterite cuirasse or peridotite). It is diurno-nocturnal, cryptozoic and terrestrial. It shelters beneath rocks and deep within boulder beds. It usually forages in cover or in the open at night.
Threats
This species is at high risk to further loss of habitat arising from the large-scale nickel mine developments underway on both Kopéto-Paéoua and Koniambo, with the addition of wildfires in adjacent savanna or maquis shrublands who are a recurrent threat to forest margins, particularly at lower elevations. The introduced ant Wasmannia auropunctata is expected to have a detrimental impact in low to mid-elevation forest sites as it is known to decimate lizard populations (Jourdan et al. 2000, 2001). Introduced mammals such as rodents (Thibault 2017), cats (Palmas 2017) and pigs are potential predators.
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.
Bibliography
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.
Sadlier, R.A., Smith, S.A, Bauer, A.M. and Whitaker, A.H. 2004. A new genus and species of live-bearing scincid lizard (Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Caledonia. Journal of herpetology(38) , p.320-330.
Sadlier, R.A., Smith, S.A., Whitaker, A.H. and Bauer, A.M. 2009. A new live-bearing species of scincid lizard (Reptilia: Scincidae) from New Caledonia, southwest Pacific. Pacific Science(63) , p.123–136.
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.
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.
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.
IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.
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): Warimavute, G., Tanguy, V., Lietar, J.