The Saint Croix ground lizard (''Pholidoscelis polops'') is a small lizard

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Description

Growing to a size of between 35 and 90 mm (excluding the tail), adults have a pattern of light brown, dark brown and white longitudinal stripes down their back. Below these are a series of narrow brown, black and white vertical stripes, which extend from the sides down to the stomach. The stomach is white with bright blue markings (males), and the rest of the underside is a deep pinkish-red hue. The tail changes from a brown color near the body with alternating rings of blue and black. The entire tail of juveniles and hatchlings is a bright blue color. It eats virtually any prey item, including berries,

amphipods Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descri ...

moths Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,00 ...

and small

hermit crab Hermit crabs are anomuran decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile exoskeletons. There are over 800 species of hermit crab, most of which possess an a ...

Habitat

The lizard is mainly found in beach areas and upland forest. Once found on St. Croix, the population was

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

, likely due to habitat loss and the introduction of the

small Indian mongoose The small Indian mongoose (''Urva auropunctata'') is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern South Asia; it has also been introduced to many regions of the world, such as several Caribbean and Pacific islands. Taxonomy ''Mangusta auropun ...

to the island in the 1880s. The lizard is found on four islands:

Protestant Cay Protestant Cay is a four-acre triangular islet in the Christiansted Harbor, 200 yards north of Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands, Christiansted. The island is home to a resort, the Hotel on the Cay, which is home to a protected sand beach, small ...

Green Cay Green Cay is an uninhabited island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It sits between the eastern tip of Little Jost Van Dyke and Tortola. It is in area. Environment The island, with its surrounding waters, has been designated a ...

, Ruth Cay (a man-made island, constructed by dredging in the 1960s), and Buck Island.

Status

The

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

listed the St. Croix ground lizard as endangered in 1977 (according to the Endangered Species Act of 1973), and ''Pholidoscelis polops'' is currently listed as endangered on the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. Efforts to save this species include two translocation projects to mongoose-free offshore islands around St. Croix. In 1990, ten lizards from the Protestant Cay population were placed onto Ruth Island. In 2008, fifty-seven lizards from the Green Cay population were placed onto Buck Island.

References

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External links

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q28949419, from2=Q2310600 Pholidoscelis Endemic fauna of the United States Virgin Islands Reptiles of the United States Virgin Islands Reptiles of the Caribbean Endangered fauna of North America Endangered fauna of the United States Reptiles described in 1863 Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope ESA endangered species