Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard

The Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard (Gallotia simonyi simonyi) was the nominate subspecies of the lacertid (wall lizard) Gallotia simonyi. It was once present on a small islet near El Hierro in the Canary Islands.

Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard
Extinct  (ca. 1930s)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Gallotia
Species:
G. simonyi
Subspecies:
†G. s. simonyi
Trinomial name
Gallotia simonyi simonyi
(Steindachner, 1889)

Gallotia simonyi simonyi was only known from Roque Chico de Salmor off northwestern Valverde municipality, El Hierro. It disappeared around the 1930s through unsustainable collecting of animals for scientific institutions and commercial interests, as well as predation by feral cats and possibly herring gulls (Diaz & Bischoff 1994, Miras & Pérez-Mellado 2005).

See also

References
  • Blanco, Juan Carlos & González, José Luis (eds.) (1992): Libro rojo de los vertebrados de España. ICONA, Madrid.
  • Böhme, W. & Bings, Werner (1975): Zur Frage des Überlebens von Lacerta s. simonyi Steindachner. Salamandra 11(1): 39–46. [Article in German]
  • Diaz, Carlos Naeslund & Bischoff, Wolfgang (1994): Studien am Roque Chico de Salmor bei El Hierro (Kanaren): 1. Mögliche Ursachen für das Aussterben von Gallotia simonyi, 2. Die Artzugehörigkeit seiner Geckos (Tarentola). Salamandra 30(4): 246–253. [Article in German] HTML abstract
  • European Environment Agency (2006): European Nature Information System (EUNIS): Species Factsheet: Gallotia simonyi simonyi. Downloaded on 24 Feb 2007.
  • Maas, Peter H.J. (2006): The Extinction Website: Extinctions in Europe. Downloaded on 18 May 2006.
  • Miras, J.A.M. & Pérez-Mellado, V. (2005). "Gallotia simonyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2006.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is critically endangered

Footnotes
  1. Blanco & González (1992)


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