Santo_Stefano_lizard

Santo Stefano lizard

Santo Stefano lizard

Extinct subspecies of lizard

The Santo Stefano lizard (Podarcis siculus sanctistephani[1]) lived on Santo Stefano Island, a small island near Ventotene in the Tyrrhenian sea off the west coast of Italy, and part of the Pontine Islands. It became extinct in 1965, probably caused by feral cats and a snake species. These animals destroyed almost the whole population and any survivors seem to have interbred with an introduced subspecies. An epidemic of an unknown pathogen that followed wiped out the majority of the population and contributed to this subspecies' extinction.

Quick Facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...

See also

References

  • David Day, 1981, The Doomsday Book of Animals, Ebury Press, London.
  1. [1]
    Podarcis siculus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 June 2017.
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