Taxonomy
Red List Status -
Endangered (EN) , assessed in 11/12/2017Protected species -
in Southern Province , in Northern ProvinceSigaloseps pisinnus is listed as Endangered (criteria B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(ii,iii,iv,v)) because it is restricted to five localities in the Thio area with an extent of occurrence (EOO) estimated at 327 km2 and an area of occupancy (AOO) at 48 km2. There is a continuing decline in the area of occupancy, extent and quality of habitat and number of subpopulations/locations due to a variety of threats.
Geographical area
Sigaloseps pisinnus is endemic to Grande Terre in New Caledonia. It is known from five localities in the Thio region, from mid and high-elevation. The extent of occurrence is estimated at 327 km2 and the area of occupancy at 48 km2.
Population
There is no information on population size. The number of subpopulations is projected to decline because of mining activities in the area.
Habitat
This species occurs on ultramafic substrates in closed-forest remnants, mid- to high-elevation forest and maquis.
Threats
The greatest threats to Sigaloseps pisinnus are habitat loss and degradation from the nickel industries in the Thio region and from wildfires. Other threats are habitat degradation from introduced ungulates such as deer and pigs (Jourdan 2006), the predation pressure from rodents (Thibault 2017) and the introduction of invasive ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, which has a severe impact as it is known to decimate lizard populations (Jourdan et al. 2001).
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 known in any protected area (although it should be in Pic Ningua reserve) and no species-specific conservation management is currently being undertaken.
Bibliography
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.
L'Huillier L.; Jaffré T. and Wulff A. 2010. Mines et Environnement en Nouvelle-Calédonie : les milieux sur substrats ultramafiques et leur restauration.
Hély-Alleaume 2012. INC : Incendies et biodiversité des éco-systèmes en Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Endemia.nc 2016. Faune et Flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie.
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.
Uetz, P. (ed.) 2017. The Reptile Database.
IUCN 2021. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2.
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., Brescia, F. and Vidal, E. 2014. Programme R_Mines.Impact des espèces invasives sur les communautés de reptiles des massifs miniers.
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., Fleurot, D., Cassan, J., Jumel, M.
Facilitator(s): Lietar, J., Warimavute, G., Tanguy, V.