Spondylurus powelli

The Anguilla Bank skink (Spondylurus powelli) was discovered in the Caribbean with 20 other reptile species and was immediately listed as an endangered species. The population of this lizard has been decreasing due to the introduction of the mongoose, which was originally imported to control rats in sugarcane fields, and now is an invasive species to the Caribbean Islands.[2] Many of the newly added skink species discovered along with S. powelli are facing extinction for the same reason. Skinks are unique and perhaps at a disadvantage among lizards as they produce a human-like placenta and have live birth. The average gestation period is suggested at one year and may be the cause for the skinks being an easy target to the mongoose, since they are larger and slower when pregnant. Other types of human activity, along with the deforestation in the Caribbean, are thought to have decreased overall species numbers, as well.[3]

Spondylurus powelli
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Spondylurus
Species:
S. powelli
Binomial name
Spondylurus powelli
Hedges & Conn, 2012

References
  1. Hedges, B., Powell, R. & Daltry, J.C. 2017. Spondylurus powelli. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T47103288A72240413. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T47103288A72240413.en. Downloaded on 18 April 2020.
  2. "A new skink fauna from Caribbean islands (Squamata, Mabuyidae, Mabuyinae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  3. "24 New Species of Lizards Discovered on Caribbean Islands are Close to Extinction". psu.edu. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
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