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Encyclopedia > La Gomera Giant Lizard
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La Gomera Giant Lizard
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Family: Lacertidae
Subfamily: Gallotiinae
Genus: Gallotia
Species: G. bravoana
Binomial name
Gallotia bravoana
(Hutterer, 1985)
Synonyms
  • Gallotia gomerana
    (Hutterer, 1985)[verification needed]
  • 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 of La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... . ... 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. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... 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. ... Suborders Lacertilia- Lizards Serpentes - Snakes Amphisbaenia - Worm lizards This article is about the Squamata order of reptiles. ... Subgroups Lepidosauromorpha Archosauromorpha Sauria is a clade of reptiles that includes all living diapsids, as well as their common ancestor and all its extinct descendants. ... Genera Many, see text. ... Genera Many, see text. ... Classification Genus Gallotia Gallotia atlantica Gallotia caesaris Gallotia galloti Gallotia gomerana Gallotia intermedia Gallotia simonyi Gallotia stehlini Categories: Stub | Wall lizards ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. ... Genera Many, see text. ... For other uses, see Lizard (disambiguation). ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... La Gomera is the second smallest island of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. ... The Canaries is the nickname of Norwich City FC. The Canaries is also the nickname of Hitchin Town F.C.. 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. ...


It is easily distinguishable from any other Gallotia by the intense white colour that covers its neck, chest and area around the mouth, in spectacular contrast to its dark brown back. This lizard is generally diurnal and mostly herbivorous, and grows up to half a meter long[verification needed]. The females lay a single clutch annually of three to seven eggs on average. Diurnal may mean: in biology, a diurnal animal is an animal that is active in the daytime. ... In zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plants (rather than meat). ...

Contents

Status and conservation

Apparent La Gomera Giant Lizards are reported in reports on La Gomera up to the 19th century[citation needed], but not thereafter. The species was originally described from subfossil remains in 1985 (Hutterer 1985), presumably having gone extinct by then. Spanish biologists led by Juan Carlos Rando rediscovered this species in 1999 (Nogales et al. 2001). The biologists found only six living individuals (BBC News 2000). 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. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... The takahe is an example of a Lazarus taxon. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...


The current population of the La Gomera Giant Lizard consists of (2004) 90 individuals remaining in the wild, and a captive stock of about 44 animals. This species is now only known from two separate inaccessible cliffs 2 km apart, close to the Valle Gran Rey. The La Gomera Giant Lizard is thought to have once ranged throughout much of La Gomera and in many habitat types. Nowadays it is found in the Parque Rural de Valle Gran Rey, and the present range is less than one hectare and restricted to dry cliffs with sparse vegetation. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10 000 square metres, commonly used for measuring land area. ...


The La Gomera Giant Lizard is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. The species historically declined through overgrazing, hunting, and predation by feral cats and rats. Nowadays the main threats are predation by feral cats, and rock falls within its restricted range. The species is protected by international legislation, and a species recovery plan is in place. On La Gomera, a captive breeding programme has been established in order to increase the number of individuals. To ensure the survival of the remaining populations and faciliate eventual reintroductions, the feral cat population around the species' range needs to be controlled (Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005). An endangered species is a species whose population is so small that it is in danger of becoming extinct. ... 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 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. ... 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. ...


Taxonomy and systematics

In his scientific description, the German zoologist R. Hutterer referred the subfossil remains from La Gomera to two subspecies of Gallotia simonyi with the differences being size related. He named these Gallotia simonyi bravoana and Gallotia simonyi gomerana. Bischoff (1998) synonymized them to a single taxon[verification needed]. In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ... Gallotia simonyi (Giant Lizard of El Hierro; in Spanish, El lagarto gigante del Hierro) is a species that can be found on the island of El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands. ... In scientific classification, synonymy is the existence of multiple systematic names to label the same organism. ... A taxon (plural taxa), or taxonomic unit, is a grouping of organisms (named or unnamed). ...


Barbadillo et al. (1999) decided for bravoana when they elevated the taxon to species rank. Nogales et al. (2001) concurred as regards species status, but used Gallotia gomerana. Following the ruling of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature[citation needed], gomerana is a junior synonym or bravoana (Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005). It is not unequivocally accepted that it does constitute a distinct species, however (e.g. Bischoff 2000); in all likelihood, G. simonyi is its closest living relative (Maca-Meyer et al. 2003). The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is a set of rules in zoology that have one fundamental aim: to provide the maximum universality and continuity in classifying all animals according to taxonomic judgment. ... In zoological nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names that pertain to the same taxon, for example two names for the same species. ...


References

  • Barbadillo, L.J., Lacomba, J.I.; Pérez-Mellado, V.; Sancho, V. & López-Jurado, L.F. (1999): Anfibios y Reptiles de la Península Ibérica, Baleares y Canarias. 419 pp. Editorial Planeta, Barcelona.
  • Bischoff, Wolfgang (1998): Bemerkungen zu den "fossilen" Rieseneidechsen der Kanarischen Inseln. In: Bischoff, Wolfgang (ed.): Handbuch der Reptilien und Amphibien Europas 6 (Die Reptilien der Kanarischen Inseln, der Selvagens-Inseln und des Madeira-Archipels): 387-407. Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden.
  • Hutterer, R. (1985): Neue Funde von Rieseneidechsen (Lacertidae) auf der Insel Gomera. Bonner zoologische Beiträge 36(3/4): 365-394.
  • 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)
  • Nogales, M.; Rando, J.C.; Valido, A. & Martín, A. (2001): Discovery of a living giant lizard, Genus Gallotia (Reptilia: Lacertidae), from La Gomera, Canary Islands. Herpetologica 57: 169-179. HTML abstract

The current BBC News logo BBC News and Current Affairs is a major arm of the BBC responsible for the corporations newsgathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... The Biological Journal of the Linnean Society is a scientific journal published by The Linnean Society of London. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... 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. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

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