zoo:logic

24 new species of skink (lizards of the family Scincidae) from the islands of the Caribbean have been identified in a paper published today in the journal Zootaxa - the first time more than 20 reptile species have been described at once since the 1800s. Researchers examined museum specimens, DNA sequences and characteristics of the animals themselves in order to describe the new species, which include the Anguilla Bank skink (pictured). But while being “brand new” in the eyes of science, these New World skinks, which arrived to the Americas across the seas from Africa around 18 million years ago, may not be around for much longer. These species are all vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered, primarily as a result of predation from the mongoose, which was introduced from India in the late nineteenth century to control rat pests in sugarcane fields. The mongoose has caused widespread extinctions and decline in reptile populations in the Caribbean, along with pressures from other human impacts such as habitat loss.

Ref: Voss K., 2012. 24 New Species of Lizards Discovered on Caribbean Islands are Close to Extinction.  Penn State University [link]