Leiocephalus eremitus (Navassa Curly-Tailed Lizard)

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Leiocephalus eremitus

This species is just known from a single specimen.

www.avila.edu/departments/biology/Bobweb/Navassa%20scans/6pow17.jpg

[another specialist]

Leiocephalus eremitus Cope
Leiocephalus (sic) eremitus Cope, 1868:122. Type locality,
“Navassa Island.” Holotype, National Museum of
Natural History (USNM) 12016, an adult female,
collected by W. J. Rasin.
Our knowledge of Leiocephalus eremitus is
based solely on the holotype, a female bearing
three mature ova. A second specimen
collected by the R.H. Beck expedition in
1917 and illustrated by Schmidt (1921)
lacked locality data and was reidentified
correctly by Thomas (1966) as L. melanochlorus,
a Hispaniolan species found throughout
the Tiburon Peninsula.
In addition to Cope’s (1868) brief
description, Thomas (1966) provided a
detailed description, paraphrased by
Schwartz and Henderson (1991) and Pregill
(1992). The species has not been illustrated.
The SVL of the holotype is 64 mm (Thomas,
1966).
Thomas (1966) stated: “The distinctness
of this form plus the confidence generated
by the W.J. Rasin specimens indicate that
Navassa once possessed an endemic species
of Leiocephalus which is now extinct.”

www.uprm.edu/publications/cjs/Vol35a/p.1-13.pdf

[another specialist]

www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php?species=11388

[another specialist]

Leiocephalus eremitus (Tropiduridae)

USNM 12016 (holotype).

www.avila.edu/biology/Bobweb/6pownav.htm

[another specialist]

The Navassa Curly-tailed Lizard (Leiocephalus eremitus) is an extinct lizard species from the family of Curly-tailed lizards (Leiocephalidae). It was endemic to Navassa Island and is only known by one single female which was described in 1868. A second specimen which was collected by Rollo Beck in 1917 was identified as Tiburon Curly-tailed Lizard (Leiocephalus melanochlorus) by herpetologist Richard Thomas in 1966.

The size of the holotype is given with 64 mm. The head and ventral scales are smooth. The dorsal scales are larger than the flank and the ventral scales. The dorsum is dark gray with nine dark transverse bars. The tail is pale with transverse bars on the basal half and uniformly dark dark gray to black on the ulterior half. Throat, breast, belly and the extremities are brown with pale tipped scales.

Nothing is known about its biology. The reason for its extinction is unknown too but it might due to the alteration of its habitat.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leiocephalus_eremitus

[another specialist]

Conservation Biology: For the Coming Decade By Peggy Lee Fiedler, Peter M. Kareiva

[surroundx]

Pregill, Gregory K. (1992). Systematics of the West Indian Lizard Genus Leiocephalus (Squamata: Iguania: Tropiduridae). The University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Miscellaneous Publications, No. 84: 1-69.

[Sebbe]

Listed as Extinct on the basis that this species has not been recorded since it was described in the 19th Century, although Lieocephalus lizards are typically conspicuous and searches have been conducted in the localities where it was collected without rediscovering it.

This species was endemic to Navassa Island (Henderson and Powell 2009). It has been collected at 60 m asl (M. Landestoy and S. Incháustegui pers. comm. 2015).

The only known specimen is the holotype (Henderson and Powell 2009), despite several searches conducted to find it (R. Powell pers. comm. 2015). As Leiocephalus species are "quite obvious" when present and this species faced known threats from introduced species that could have wiped it out, the species is presumed to be extinct (Powell and Henderson 2012, Pregill 1992, R. Powell pers. comm. 2016).

It is thought that predation by cats may have contributed to the extinction of this species (Medina et al. 2011), but while cats could certainly have wiped out this species the ultimate cause of its extinction is unknown (R. Powell pers. comm. 2015, 2016).

www.iucnredlist.org/details/11388/0

[Peter]

Its first description: www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9768245#page/104/mode/1up

Cope, E.D. 1868. An examination of the Reptilia and Batrachia obtained by the Orton Expedition to Equador and the Upper Amazon, with notes on other species. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 20: 96-140