Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard
Encyclopedia
The Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard (Gallotia simonyi simonyi) was the nominate subspecies of the lacertid (wall lizard
) Gallotia simonyi. It was once present on a small islet near El Hierro
in the Canary Islands
.
Gallotia simonyi simonyi was only known from the Roque Chico de Salmor off northwestern Valverde municipality
, El Hierro. It disappeared around the 1930s through unsustainable collecting of animals for scientific institutions and commercial interests, as well as predation by feral cats and possibly Herring Gulls (Diaz & Bischoff 1994, Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005). Following this population's disappearance, the species was believed to be entirely extinct until Gallotia simonyi machadoi was discovered on El Hierro itself in 1974 (Böhme & Bings 1975).
The newly-discovered population is also most rare and might go extinct due to stochastic
events. Presently however it seems to hold its own - not the least due to reintroduction to the Roque Chico de Salmor which is now a protected area (Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005).
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
) Gallotia simonyi. It was once present on a small islet near El Hierro
El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano , is the smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 10,162 .- Name :The name El Hierro, although phonetically identical to the Spanish word for 'iron', is generally thought...
in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
Gallotia simonyi simonyi was only known from the Roque Chico de Salmor off northwestern Valverde municipality
Valverde, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Valverde is a municipality in the Canary Islands in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is located on the north-east part of El Hierro . The town of the same name serves as the island's official capital...
, El Hierro. It disappeared around the 1930s through unsustainable collecting of animals for scientific institutions and commercial interests, as well as predation by feral cats and possibly Herring Gulls (Diaz & Bischoff 1994, Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005). Following this population's disappearance, the species was believed to be entirely extinct until Gallotia simonyi machadoi was discovered on El Hierro itself in 1974 (Böhme & Bings 1975).
The newly-discovered population is also most rare and might go extinct due to stochastic
Stochastic
Stochastic refers to systems whose behaviour is intrinsically non-deterministic. A stochastic process is one whose behavior is non-deterministic, in that a system's subsequent state is determined both by the process's predictable actions and by a random element. However, according to M. Kac and E...
events. Presently however it seems to hold its own - not the least due to reintroduction to the Roque Chico de Salmor which is now a protected area (Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005).
External links
- lacerta.de: Gallotia simonyi machadoi image gallery. Contains several good photos of habitat on Roque Chico de Salmor. Retrieved 2007-FEB-25.