Tenerife speckled lizard

The Tenerife speckled lizard (Gallotia intermedia) is a recently discovered lacertid (wall lizard) endemic to Tenerife in the Canary Islands.[3] It is the smallest member of the clade containing the western islands' giant species.[5]

Tenerife speckled lizard
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Gallotia
Species:	G. intermedia
Binomial name
Gallotia intermedia Barbadillo, Lacomba, Pêrez-Mellado, Sancho & López-Jurado, 1999[2][lower-alpha 1]

It was discovered in 1996 by biologist Efraín Hernández in the Macizo de Teno in the extreme northwest of Tenerife.[4] 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.[1]

The total number of animals in the northwestern distribution area is 500 (estimated in 2008), in 40 isolated populations along altogether 9 km of coastline. In the south, there are about 100 animals. The main threat to this lizard is predation by feral cats and, to a lesser degree, by rats. The lizards are increasing in number since the turn of the century as a result of control of introduced mammals.[1]

Notes

1. This species was first informally described in 1999 in a field guide, before being more formally described[3] in 2000 by Hernández and colleagues.[4] Whether the first description is valid remains in the grey zone of biological nomenclature.[3]

References

1. Miras, J.A.M.; Pérez-Mellado, V. & Martínez-Solano, I. (2009). "Gallotia intermedia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T61505A12494026. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
2. 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.
3. Gallotia intermedia at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 10 August 2020.
4. Hernández, Efraín; Nogales, Manuel & Martín, Aurelio (2000). "Discovery of a new lizard in the Canary Islands, with a multivariate analysis of Gallotia (Reptilia: Lacertidae)". Herpetologica. 56 (1): 63–76. JSTOR 3893128.
5. 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". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 80 (4): 659–670. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2003.00265.x.

Further reading

• Hernández, Efraín, Bischoff, W.; Bannert, B. & Siverio, M. (1997): "Rieseneidechsen" auf Teneriffa. herpetofauna 19(109): 19–24.