Taxonomy
Red List Status -
Endangered (EN) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Southern Province , in Northern Province
Mniarogekko jalu is listed as Endangered (criteria B1ab(ii,iii,v)+2ab(ii,iii,v)) because it is restricted to four locations in New Caledonia with a continuing decline in the area of occupancy (AOO), extent and quality of habitat and the number of mature individuals due to a variety of threats.
Geographical area
Mniarogekko jalu is endemic to Province Nord in New Caledonia. It is restricted to the far north, from Diahot to Ile Art. The extent of occurrence (EOO) is estimated at 1,341 km2 and the area of occupancy (AOO) at 24 km2.
Population
There is no information on population size or trends.
Habitat
This species appears to be exclusively arboreal, in old-growth, closed-forest habitat with large canopy trees. It has been observed at night, foraging in the twigs and outer foliage of canopy trees or less and trunks in the upper vegetation strata. During the day they shelter in crevices and holes in branches and trunks, often descending close to the forest floor to such sites.
Threats
The major threats to Mniarogekko jalu are the habitat loss and degradation from the expanding nickel industry on the Tiébaghi massif and wildfires on all localities, the introduction of the invasive ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, which has severe and potentially unsustainable impact on the geckos (Jourdan et al.,2001, 2006). Illegal collection and trafficking at accessible location are also estimated to have significant effects. In addition, feral cats (Palmas 2017) also exert a severe predation pressure.
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). This species is not present in any reserve and no species-specific conservation management is currently being undertaken.
Bibliography
Uetz, P. (ed.) 2017. The Reptile Database.
Hély-Alleaume 2012. INC : Incendies et biodiversité des éco-systèmes en Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Bauer, A.M., Jackman, T.R., Sadlier, R.A. and Whitaker, A.H. 2012. Revision of the giant geckos of New Caledonia (Reptilia: Diplodactylidae: Rhacodactylus). Zootaxa(3404) , p.1–52.
Bauer, A.M., Jackman, T.R., Sadlier, R.A. and Whitaker, A.H. 2012. Revision of the giant geckos of New Caledonia (Reptilia: Diplodactylidae: Rhacodactylus). Zootaxa(3404) , p.1–52.
Jourdan, H., Brescia, F. and Vidal, E. 2014. Programme R_Mines.Impact des espèces invasives sur les communautés de reptiles des massifs miniers.
L'Huillier L.; Jaffré T. and Wulff A. 2010. Mines et Environnement en Nouvelle-Calédonie : les milieux sur substrats ultramafiques et leur restauration.
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.
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.
de Vosjoli, P., Klingenberg, R., Tremper, R. and Viets, B. 2003. Leopard Gecko Manual.
IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.
Endemia.nc 2016. Faune et Flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie.
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): Butin, J., Cassan, J., Jumel, M., Fleurot, D.
Facilitator(s): Warimavute, G., Lietar, J., Tanguy, V.