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 els ...

to the

U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

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 ...

ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...

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, likely due to habitat loss and the introduction of the small Indian mongoose to the island in the 1880s. The lizard is found on four islands: Protestant Cay,

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 Ruth Island (also known as Ruth Cay) is an artificial island off the southern coast of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands near Port Alucroix. It was created in the mid-1960s from the dredging of ''Krauses Lagune'' and is about 40 acres (16 ha). ...

(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. 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