Cryptoblepharus egeriae

For other species sometimes known as blue-tailed skink, see Blue-tailed skink (disambiguation).

Christmas Island blue-tailed shining-skink
1900 monograph of three Christmas Island reptiles, with the Christmas Island blue-tailed shinning-skink at right.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Scincidae
Genus: Cryptoblepharus
Species:
C. egeriae
Binomial name
Cryptoblepharus egeriae
(Boulenger, 1888)
Synonyms[2]
  • Ablepharus egeriae
    Boulenger, 1888
  • Ablepharus boutonii egeriae
    — Mertens, 1931
  • Cryptoblepharus egeriae
    — Greer, 1974

Cryptoblepharus egeriae, also known commonly as the blue-tailed shinning-skink, the Christmas Island blue-tailed shinning-skink, and the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae that was once endemic to Christmas Island. The Christmas Island blue-tailed skink was discovered in 1888.[3] It was formerly the most abundant reptile on the island, and occurred in high numbers particularly near the human settlement. However, the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink began to decline sharply outwardly from the human settlement by the early 1990s, which coincided with the introduction of a predatory snake and also followed the introduction of the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) in the mid-1980s.[4] By 2006, the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink was on the endangered animals list,[5] and by 2010 the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink was extinct in the wild. From 2009 to 2010, Parks Australia and Taronga Zoo started a captive breeding program, which has prevented total extinction of the species.[6]

  1. ^ Woinarski, J.C.Z.; Cogger, H.; Mitchell, N.M.; Emery, J. (2017). "Cryptoblepharus egeriae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T102327291A102327566. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T102327291A102327566.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ Species Cryptoblepharus egeriae at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ^ Boulenger GA (1888). "On the Reptiles of Christmas Island". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1888: 534–536. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1888.tb06729.x. ISSN 0370-2774. (Ablepharus egeriae, new species, pp. 535–536).
  4. ^ Emery, Jon-Paul (2021). "The lost lizards of Christmas Island: A retrospective assessment of factors driving the collapse of a native reptile community". Conservation Science and Practice. 3 (2). doi:10.1111/csp2.358. hdl:10536/DRO/DU:30147604. S2CID 234078176.
  5. ^ "Options beyond captivity for two critically endangered Christmas Island reptiles". www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Saving the Blue-Tailed Skink". Saving the Blue-Tailed Skink | Taronga Conservation Society Australia. Retrieved 24 March 2022.