Gallotia simonyi is a species of lacertid (wall lizard) that can be found on the island of El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands. The species was once present throughout much of the island and on the small offshore Roque Chico de Salmor, but is now confined to a few small areas of cliff with sparse vegetation. It is currently restricted to the southern end of the Risco de Tibataje in la Fuga de Gorreta, located between Guinea and the so-called Paso del Pino (an area of about four hectares). The species was also successfully reintroduced to the Roque Chico de Salmor in 1999, and subsequent reintroductions have taken place at Julan and at la Dehesa.(Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005b) The hierarchy of scientific classification. ... Genera Many, see text. ... For other uses, see Lizard (disambiguation). ... Hierro redirects here. ... Anthem: Arrorró Capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 13th  7,447 km²  1. ... A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10 000 square metres, commonly used for measuring land area. ... This article is about the year. ...

About two feet (0.6 m) long, the El Hierro Giant Lizard is a thickset reptile with a broad head. Adults are dark grey to brown in colour, with two rows of pale orange patches running along its sides. Its belly is mostly brown, but has an orange to red colouration towards the middle. Older El Hierro Giant Lizards are mainly black with some grey. Males are larger than females. Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ...

The El Hierro Giant Lizard is omnivorous. It eats plants - notably verode and Lavandula abrotanoides - as well as insects (ARKive 2006). Mating begins in May and the 5 to 13 eggs are laid from June until the end of August. Their eggs hatch after 61 days. Omnivores are organisms that consume both plants and animals. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Systematics

Two subspecies are recognised: This article is about the zoological term. ...

• Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard, Gallotia simonyi simonyi - extinct (c.1930s)
• El Hierro Giant Lizard or Hierro Giant Lizard (Spanish: Lagarto Gigante de El Hierro), Gallotia simonyi machadoi

Previously, Gallotia simonyi included the La Palma Giant Lizard and the La Gomera Giant Lizard as subspecies too (Miras 2005, Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005a); the latter is known to be very closely related to the extant population (Maca-Meyer et al. 2003) and its specific distinctness is not universally accepted (e.g. Bischoff 2000). Subfossil remains from El Hierro that were assigned to the prehistorically extinct Gallotia goliath apparently belong to the present species (Barahona et al. 2000), but the population referred to G. goliath from Tenerife was distinct (Maca-Meyer et al. 2003). Trinomial name Gallotia simonyi simonyi (Steindachner, 1889) The Roque Chico de Salmor Giant Lizard (Gallotia simonyi simonyi) was a subspecies of the El Hierro Giant Lizard (Gallotia simonyi). ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Binomial name Gallotia auaritae (Mateo, García Márquez, López Jurado and Barahona, 2001) The La Palma Giant Lizard (Gallotia auaritae) was a giant lizard that, as its name indicates, lived in the littoral zone of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain; its habitat ranged from sea level... Binomial name Gallotia bravoana (Hutterer, 1985) Synonyms Gallotia gomerana (Hutterer, 1985)[] Galliota gomerona (lapsus) Gallotia simonyi bravoana (Hutterer, 1985) Gallotia simonyi gomerana (Hutterer, 1985) The La Gomera Giant Lizard (Gallotia gomerana; Spanish: Lagarto Gigante de la Gomera) is a lacertid (wall lizard) species that can be found on the island... Subfossil is attributed to bones or whole skeletons (and, in general all materials having living parts that can become fossil) whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the condition in which bones were buried were non optimal for fossilization. ... Flag of Tenerife Tenerife in the Canary Islands chain. ...

Status and conservation

The nominate subspecies Gallotia simonyi simonyi was only known from the Roque Chico de Salmor, a small islet off northwestern Valverde municipality. 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 2005b). Following this population's disappearance, the species was believed to be entirely extinct. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Valverde (Spanish meaning green valley) is a municipality in the Canary Islands in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Binomial name Pontoppidan, 1763 The Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, is a large gull which breeds across North America, Europe and Asia. ...

In 1974, the German amateur herpetologist Werner Bings discovered a surviving population of this species on El Hierros mainland (Böhme & Bings 1975). This was subsequently determined to be a distinct subspecies, 100 years after the species was first described (López-Jurado 1989). Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of reptiles and amphibians including their classification, ecology, behavior, physiology, anatomy, and paleontology. ...

The population of this species is about 300 to 400 animals in the wild (including re-introduced populations), and it is classified as Critically Endangered by the 2006 IUCN Red List. This giant lizard's major threat is predation by feral cats, and possibly also by dogs and rats. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... Cats may refer to: Felines, members of the animal family Felidae The domesticated animal, cat The musical, yeah right, I bet that this was really dumb. ... This article is about the domestic dog. ... This is an article about wild rats; for pet rats, see Fancy rat Species 50 species; see text *Several subfamilies of Muroids include animals called rats. ...

A recovery plan for the El Hierro Giant Lizard has been developed and the United Nations and the Canary Islands Autonomous Government funded a program for the captive breeding and re-introduction of the Hierro giant lizard to its original natural habitat, including the Roque Chico de Salmor. Control of feral cats has been stopped in 2002, but according to the IUCN continued control of feral cats should be resumed to allow population recovery. The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

The El Hierro Giant Lizard is protected by national and international legislation. It is listed on Annex IV of the European Union's Habitats Directive (EC 2003) and on Appendix I of CITES. The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a European Union directive adopted in 1992as an EU response to the Berne Convention. ... The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between Governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). ...

References

• ARKive (2006): Hierro giant lizard (Gallotia simonyi). Downloaded on 18 May 2006.

• Barahona, F.; Evans, S. E.; Mateo, J.A.; García-Márquez, M. & López-Jurado, L.F. (2000): Endemism, gigantism and extinction in island lizards: the genus Gallotia on the Canary Islands. J. Zool. 250(3): 373-388. doi:10.1017/S0952836900003101 (HTML abstract)

• Bischoff, Wolfgang (2000): DGHT-AG Lacertiden aktuell: Rieseneidechsen auf La Gomera. Version of 2000-MAY-23. Retrieved 2007-FEB-25.

• Böhme, W. & Bings, Werner (1975): Zur Frage des Überlebens von Lacerta s. simonyi Steindachner. Salamandra 11(1): 39-46. [Article in German]

• Diaz, Carlos Naeslund & Bischoff, Wolfgang (1994): Studien am Roque Chico de Salmor bei El Hierro (Kanaren): 1. Mögliche Ursachen für das Aussterben von Gallotia simonyi, 2. Die Artzugehörigkeit seiner Geckos (Tarentola). Salamandra 30(4): 246-253. [Article in German] HTML abstract

• European Commission (EC) (2003): Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. Annex IV - Animal and plant species of community interest in need of strict protection. Treaty of Accession 2003. PDF fulltext

• European Environment Agency (2006a): European Nature Information System (EUNIS): Species Factsheet: Gallotia simonyi. Downloaded on 24 Feb 2007.

• European Environment Agency (2006b): European Nature Information System (EUNIS): Species Factsheet: Gallotia simonyi machadoi. Downloaded on 24 Feb 2007.

• López-Jurado, L.F. (1989): A new Canarian lizard subspecies from Hierro island (Canarian Archipelago). Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 40: 265-272.

• Maas, Peter H.J. (2006): The Extinction Website: Extinctions in Europe. Downloaded on 18 May 2006.

• Maca-Meyer, N.; Carranza, S.; Rando, J.C.; Arnold, E.N. & Cabrera, V.M. (2003): Status and relationships of the extinct giant Canary Island lizard Gallotia goliath (Reptilia: Lacertidae), assessed using ancient mtDNA from its mummified remains. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 80(4): 659–670. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2003.00265.x (HTML abstract)

• Miras, J.A.M. (2005). Gallotia auaritae. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and a brief justification of why this species is listed as extinct

• Miras, J.A.M. & Pérez-Mellado, V. (2005a). Gallotia bravoana. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is critically endangered

• Miras, J.A.M. & Pérez-Mellado, V. (2005b). Gallotia simonyi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is critically endangered

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External links

• lacerta.de: Gallotia simonyi machadoi image gallery. Retrieved 2007-FEB-25.