Is the Burrowing Skink Possibly Extinct

The impact of this study was reassessed two months after our collection period, indicating no sign of decline in the population size of S. modesta in the study area. At the lab, we confirmed that all individuals belong to the same species based on their morphological characteristics (Hang, 2012). After being euthanized with tricaine methanesulfonate (MS222), each skink was measured using a precision balance (0.0001 g) for weight (g) and a vernier caliper (0.02 mm) for snout-vent length (SVL) (mm), head width (HW) (mm), and tail width (TW) (mm).

Refuges are surveyed every five ... refuges with 50,000 or more annual visits. The 2018-2023 cycle produced over 20,000 survey responses from visitors to 141 stations....

Marine animals such as sharks and rays are among the marine species that face enormous pressures, trying to survive in our oceans. Recent global analyses confirm that sharks and rays have experienced substantial increases in extinction risk since 1970, with populations declining by roughly half over that period due to overfishing, pollution, habitat degradation and climate change.

A trait apparent in many species of skink is digging and burrowing. Many spend their time underground where they are mostly safe from predators, sometimes even digging out tunnels for easy navigation. They also use their tongues to sniff the air and track their prey.

Gardiner's burrowing skink (Pamelaescincus gardineri) is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. P. gardineri is the only species in the (monotypic) skink genus Pamelaescincus.

J. braueri is found only in the Seychelles, where it occurs on the islands Mahé and Silhouette. The natural habitats of Brauer's burrowing skink are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, at altitudes of 200–800 m (660–2,620 ft).