Was it premature to declare the giant Tongan Ground Skink Tachygyia microlepis extinct?
Résumé
The Tongan giant skink Tachygyia microlepis is generally considered as extinct. It is known only by its two holotypes hosted at Paris Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) and collected about two centuries ago during a Dumont d'Urville circum-navigation expedition. In the present paper we show that this species could still exist on remote Tongan islands and its biology could explain that it was not recently observed. We also highlight its convergence with some diploglossid lizards and their biology certainly is similar and could allow to search the supposedly extinct skink species. We also show that T. microlepis most likely belong to the speciose genus Emoia and that its differences with other species of that genus are related to its adaptation to a burrowing way of life after competition with another member of that genus in Tonga.
Mots clés
Keywords - Reptilia
Sauria
Scincidae
Oceania
Pacific
Kingdom of Tonga
Polynesia
Extinction
Rarity
Extinct species
Tachygyia microlepis
Lazare species
Dumont d'Urville
MNHN 2919
MNHN 5493
Laticauda colubrina
Laticauda laticaudata
Hydrophis platurus
Candoia bibroni
Tongatapu Island
William Charles Mariner (1791-1853)
John Martin (1789-1869)
Astrolabe
Emoia lawesii
Emoia adspersa
John R.H. Gibbons
Diploglossus
Morphological convergence
Burrowing species
Celestus
Brachylophus
Chioninia
High number of midbody scale rows
Skink
Adaptation to cold climate
Extinct species.
Giant Tongan Ground Skink
GIant lizard
Domaines
Sciences de l'environnementOrigine | Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte |
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Licence |
Domaine public
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