Island night lizard

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Island night lizard
Island Night Lizard, San Nicolas Island, California..JPG
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Xantusiidae
Genus: Xantusia
Species:
X. riversiana
Binomial name
Xantusia riversiana
Cope, 1883
Synonyms [3]
  • Xantusia riversiana
    Cope, 1883
  • Klauberina riversiana
    Savage, 1957
  • Xantusia riversiana
    Crother, 2000

The island night lizard (Xantusia riversiana) is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. The species is native to three of the Channel Islands of California: San Nicolas Island, Santa Barbara Island, and San Clemente Island. A small population of the island night lizard also lives on Sutil Island, near Santa Barbara Island.

Contents

Etymology

The specific name, riversiana, is in honor of James John Rivers (1824–1913), a London-born physician and naturalist, who was Curator of Natural History at the University of California. [4]

Subspecies

The San Clemente Island population is a subspecies which is recognized as being valid. [3]

Conservation status

The island night lizard was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the United States since 1977; the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable. In 2006, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the administrating agency for the ESA, removed the San Clemente subspecies from the ESA. Better control of munitions-sparked wildfires may have been a reason. In March 2014, the US Fish and Wildlife Service removed the species from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife. This removal was attributed to the removal of non-native animals such as cats and goats from the islands and partnering between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Navy.[ citation needed ]

Habitat

The island night lizard's preferred habitat is coastal scrub made up of dense boxthorn and cacti thickets. [1]

Reproduction

Like other night lizards of the family Xantusiidae, the island night lizard is ovoviviparous, bearing live young rather than laying eggs. [3]

Description

The island night lizard is much larger than another species in the genus Xantusia, the desert night lizard (Xantusia vigilis) of southern California. The island night lizard is typically between 2.6 and 4.3 in (6.6 and 10.9 cm) in length, not including the tail. It typically lives between 11 and 13 years, but some individuals are estimated to have lived 30 years or more. Its color varies from pale ash gray and beige to brown and black. It may have a uniform, mottled, or striped pattern.[ citation needed ]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Xantusia riversiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T23095A9416639. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T23095A9416639.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Species Xantusia riversiana at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Klauberina riversiana, p. 222).

Sources

Further reading