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USGS · 70231521

Conservation status of the world’s skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk

David G. Chapple·Uri Roll·Monika Böhm·Rocio Aguilar·Andrew P. Amey·Chris C. Austin·Maureen Baling·Anthony J. Barley·Michael F. Bates·Aaron M. Bauer·Daniel G. Blackburn·Phil Bowles·Rafe M. Brown·S. R. Chandramouli·Laurent Chirio·Hal Cogger·Guarino R. Colli·Werner Conradie·Patrick J. Couper·Mark A. Cowan·Michael D. Craig·Indraneil Das·Aniruddha Datta-Roy·Chris R. Dickman·Ryan J. Ellis·Aaron L. Fenner·Stewart Ford·S. R. Ganesh·Michael G. Gardner·Peter Geissler·Graeme R. Gillespie·Frank Glaw·Matthew J. Greenlees·Oliver W. Griffith·L. Lee Grismer·Margaret L. Haines·D. James Harris·S. Blair Hedges·Rod A. Hitchmough·Conrad J. Hoskin·Mark N. Hutchinson·Ivan Ineich·Jordi Janssen·Gregory R. Johnston·Benjamin R. Karin·J. Scott Keogh·Frederick Kraus·Matthew LeBreton·Petros Lymberakis·Rafaqat Masroor·Peter J. McDonald·Sven Mecke·Jane Melville·Sabine Melzer·Damian R. Michael·Aurelien Miralles·Nicola J. Mitchell·Nicola J. Nelson·Truong Q. Nguyen·Cristiano de Campos Nogueira·Hidetoshi Ota·Panayiotis Pafilis·Olivier S. G. Pauwels·Ana Perera·Daniel Pincheira-Donoso·Robert Reed·Marco A. Ribeiro-Junior·Julia L. Riley·Sara Rocha·Pamela L. Rutherford·Ross A. Sadlier·Boaz Shacham·Glenn M. Shea·Richard Shine·Alex Slavenko·Adam Stow·Joanna Sumner·Oliver J. S. Tallowin·Roy Teale·Omar Torres-Carvajal·Jean-Francois Trape·Peter Uetz·Kanishka D. B. Ukuwela·Leonie E. Valentine·James U. Van Dyke·Dylan van Winkel·Raquel Vasconcelos·Miguel Vences·Philipp Wagner·Erik Wapstra·Geoffrey M. While·Martin J. Whiting·Camilla M. Whittington·Steve Wilson·Thomas Ziegler·Reid Tingley·Shai Meiri
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Abstract

Our knowledge of the conservation status of reptiles, the most diverse group of terrestrial vertebrates, has improved dramatically over the past decade, but still lags behind that of the other tetrapod groups. Here, we conduct the first comprehensive assessment (~92% of the world’s ~1,714 described species) of the conservation status of skinks (Scincidae), the most speciose reptile family worldwide. Using IUCN criteria, we found that ~20% of species are threatened with extinction, and nine species are Extinct or Extinct in the Wild. The highest levels of threat are evident in Madagascar, and the Neotropics, and in the subfamilies Mabuyinae, Eugongylinae and Scincinae. The vast majority of threatened skink species were listed based primarily on their small geographic ranges (Criterion B, 83%; Criterion D2, 13%). Although the population trend of 42% of species were stable, 14% were found to have declining populations. The key threats to skinks are habitat loss due to agriculture, invasive species, and biological resource use. Distributions of 61% of species did not overlap with protected areas. Despite our improved knowledge of the conservation status of the world’s skinks, 8% of species remain to be assessed and 221 species (14%) are listed as Data Deficient. The conservation status of almost a quarter of the world’s skink species thus remains unknown. We use our updated knowledge of the conservation status of the group to develop and outline the priorities for the conservation assessment and management of the world’s skink species.

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David G. Chapple, Uri Roll, Monika Böhm, Rocio Aguilar, Andrew P. Amey, Chris C. Austin, Maureen Baling, Anthony J. Barley, Michael F. Bates, Aaron M. Bauer, Daniel G. Blackburn, Phil Bowles, Rafe M. Brown, S. R. Chandramouli, Laurent Chirio, Hal Cogger, Guarino R. Colli, Werner Conradie, Patrick J. Couper, Mark A. Cowan, Michael D. Craig, Indraneil Das, Aniruddha Datta-Roy, Chris R. Dickman, Ryan J. Ellis, Aaron L. Fenner, Stewart Ford, S. R. Ganesh, Michael G. Gardner, Peter Geissler, Graeme R. Gillespie, Frank Glaw, Matthew J. Greenlees, Oliver W. Griffith, L. Lee Grismer, Margaret L. Haines, D. James Harris, S. Blair Hedges, Rod A. Hitchmough, Conrad J. Hoskin, Mark N. Hutchinson, Ivan Ineich, Jordi Janssen, Gregory R. Johnston, Benjamin R. Karin, J. Scott Keogh, Frederick Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Petros Lymberakis, Rafaqat Masroor, Peter J. McDonald, Sven Mecke, Jane Melville, Sabine Melzer, Damian R. Michael, Aurelien Miralles, Nicola J. Mitchell, Nicola J. Nelson, Truong Q. Nguyen, Cristiano de Campos Nogueira, Hidetoshi Ota, Panayiotis Pafilis, Olivier S. G. Pauwels, Ana Perera, Daniel Pincheira-Donoso, Robert Reed, Marco A. Ribeiro-Junior, Julia L. Riley, Sara Rocha, Pamela L. Rutherford, Ross A. Sadlier, Boaz Shacham, Glenn M. Shea, Richard Shine, Alex Slavenko, Adam Stow, Joanna Sumner, Oliver J. S. Tallowin, Roy Teale, Omar Torres-Carvajal, Jean-Francois Trape, Peter Uetz, Kanishka D. B. Ukuwela, Leonie E. Valentine, James U. Van Dyke, Dylan van Winkel, Raquel Vasconcelos, Miguel Vences, Philipp Wagner, Erik Wapstra, Geoffrey M. While, Martin J. Whiting, Camilla M. Whittington, Steve Wilson, Thomas Ziegler, Reid Tingley, Shai Meiri. 2021. Conservation status of the world’s skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109101

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