''Leiolopisma telfairii'', also known commonly as the Round Island ground skink, the Round Island skink, and Telfair's skink, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of lizard in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Scincidae. The species is

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 else ...

to Round Island, one of the islands of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

Taxonomy

Other members of the genus ''

Leiolopisma ''Leiolopisma'' is a genus of skinks. Most species occur in the region of New Caledonia-New Zealand, and they are related to other genera from that general area, such as ''Emoia''; these and others form the ''Eugongylus'' group. One living and ...

'' occur on New Caledonia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, but the Round Island skink is closely related to the two extinct

Mascarenes The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, '' L. mauritiana'' from Mauritius and '' L. ceciliae'' from Réunion.

Etymology

''L. telfairii'' is named after Irish botanist Charles Telfair,Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Leiolopisma telfairi'', p. 262). the founder of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Mauritius.

Description

''L. telfairii'' reaches a total length (including tail) of between . The body is general brownish grey mottled with dark brown spots. The small scales exhibit an iridescence when the sunlight is reflected on them. The body is approximately cylindrical. ''L. telfairii'' can

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

its relatively long tail during a fight or to escape capture; the tail is regenerated after a while. The short but vigorous legs are used to dig burrows.

Ecology

The

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

diet of ''L. telfairii'' consists of seeds, fruits, insects, and small lizards. Cannibalism is not unknown, and ''L. telfairii'' may even

kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...

its own young to eat them.

Status and conservation

''L. telfairii'' was once numerous on Mauritius and offshore islands like Flat Island. Due to habitat destruction and

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

like goats, black rats, and rabbits, it has been limited to Round Island since the middle of the 19th century. When

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island o ...

visited Round Island in the 1970s he recorded 5,000 specimens. He brought some specimens to the Jersey Zoo to build up a captive breeding program. Since the eradication of the goats and rabbits on Round Island the skink population has increased to the point that some could be relocated to other islands, like Gunner's Quoin (Coin du Mire) and the Île aux Aigrettes.

References

External links

*ARKive
images and movies of the Round Island skink ''(Leiolopisma telfairii)''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q306388 Leiolopisma Reptiles described in 1831 Reptiles of Mauritius Endemic fauna of Mauritius Taxa named by Julien Desjardins