Tenerife Speckled Lizard
Encyclopedia
The Tenerife Speckled Lizard, Gallotia intermedia, is a recently-discovered lacertid (wall lizard
) of Tenerife
in the Canary Islands
. It is the smallest member of the clade
containing the western islands' giant species (Maca-Meyer et al. 2003).
It was discovered in 1996 by biologist Efraín Hernández in the Macizo de Teno in the extreme northwest of Tenerife (Hernández et al. 1997). Although it is believed that the species was once widespread throughout much of the island, nowadays it is only known from a small area of coastline in the extreme west of the island, and also from Montana de Guaza in the extreme south.
The total number of animals is 500 (in 2005), in 40 isolated populations along altogether 9 km of coastline. The main threat to this lizard is predation by feral
cats and, to a lesser degree, by rats
. The number of animals in increasing since the turn of the century as a result of control of introduced mammals.
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...
) of Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
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...
. It is the smallest member of the clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
containing the western islands' giant species (Maca-Meyer et al. 2003).
It was discovered in 1996 by biologist Efraín Hernández in the Macizo de Teno in the extreme northwest of Tenerife (Hernández et al. 1997). Although it is believed that the species was once widespread throughout much of the island, nowadays it is only known from a small area of coastline in the extreme west of the island, and also from Montana de Guaza in the extreme south.
The total number of animals is 500 (in 2005), in 40 isolated populations along altogether 9 km of coastline. The main threat to this lizard is predation by feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
cats and, to a lesser degree, by rats
RATS
RATS may refer to:* RATS , Regression Analysis of Time Series, a statistical package* Rough Auditing Tool for Security, a computer program...
. The number of animals in increasing since the turn of the century as a result of control of introduced mammals.
External links
- lacerta.de: Gallotia intermedia image gallery. Retrieved 2007-FEB-25.