Round Island skink
| Round Island skink | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| (unranked): | Sauria |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Infraorder: | Scincomorpha |
| Family: | Scincidae |
| Subfamily: | Lygosominae |
| Genus: | Leiolopisma |
| Species: | L. telfairii |
| Binomial name | |
| Leiolopisma telfairii Desjardins, 1831 | |
The Round Island skink or Telfair's skink (Leiolopisma telfairii), is a species of skink native to Round Island, one of the islands of Mauritius. Other members of the genus Leiolopisma occur on New Caledonia and New Zealand but the Round Island skink is closely related to the two extinct Mascarenes taxa, L. mauritiana from Mauritius and L. ceciliae from Réunion. It is named after Charles Edward Telfair, the founder of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Mauritius.
Description
It reaches a length between 30 and 40 cm. The body is general brownish grey mottled with dark brown spots. The small scales exhibit an iridescence when the sunlight is reflected on them. The body is approximately cylindrical. It can cast its relatively long tail during a fight or to escape capture; the tail is regenerated after a while. Their short but vigorous legs are used to dig burrows.
Ecology
Its omnivorous diet consists of seeds, fruits, insects and small lizards. Cannibalism is not unknown and the skinks may even kill their own young to eat them.
Status and conservation
This species was once numerous on Mauritius and offshore islands like Flat Island. Due to habitat destruction and introduced species like goats, black rats, and rabbits, it has been limited to Round Island since the middle of the 19th century. When Gerald Durrell visited Round Island in the 1970s he recorded 5000 specimens. He brought some specimens to the Jersey Zoo (now Durrell Wildlife Park) to build up a captive breeding program. Since the eradication of the goats and rabbits on Round Island the skink population has increased to the point that some could be relocated to other islands, like Gunner's Quoin (Coin du Mire) and the Île aux Aigrettes.
References
- Austin, J. J. & E. N. Arnold. (2006): Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39(2):503–511.doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.011 (HTML abstract)
- Madagascar Reptile & Amphibian Specialist Group (1996). Leiolopisma telfairii. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 17 Jul 2007. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable.