Leiolopisma telfairii facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Leiolopisma telfairii |
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Leiolopisma
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telfairii
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The Round Island ground skink (scientific name: Leiolopisma telfairii) is a special type of lizard. It is also known as the Round Island skink or Telfair's skink. This amazing lizard lives only on Round Island, which is one of the islands of Mauritius. It belongs to the Scincidae family, which are often called "skinks."
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About the Round Island Skink's Family
The Round Island skink is part of a group of lizards called Leiolopisma. Other lizards in this group live far away in places like New Caledonia and New Zealand. However, the Round Island skink is most closely related to two other skink types that used to live on the Mascarenes islands, near Mauritius. Sadly, these two related skinks, L. mauritiana and L. ceciliae, are now extinct. This makes the Round Island skink even more unique and important to protect.
Who is Telfair?
The scientific name of this skink, L. telfairii, honors a person named Charles Telfair. He was an Irish botanist, which means he studied plants. Charles Telfair also started the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Mauritius.
What Does the Skink Look Like?
The Round Island ground skink can grow to be about 30 to 40 centimeters (about 12 to 16 inches) long, including its tail. Its body is usually brownish-grey with darker brown spots. If you look closely, its small scales can shimmer with different colors when sunlight hits them.
The skink's body is shaped like a cylinder, which means it's round and long. It has a fairly long tail. If the skink feels threatened or is caught, it can actually drop its tail to escape! Don't worry, the tail will grow back after some time. Its legs are short but strong, which helps it dig burrows in the ground.
What Does the Skink Eat?
The Round Island ground skink is an omnivore. This means it eats both plants and animals. Its diet includes seeds, fruits, insects, and even other small lizards.
Saving the Round Island Skink
The Round Island ground skink used to live in many places on Mauritius and nearby islands like Flat Island. But over time, its home was destroyed. Also, new animals like goats, black rats, and rabbits were brought to the islands. These new animals caused a lot of problems for the skinks. By the mid-1800s, the skinks could only be found on Round Island.
In the 1970s, a famous conservationist named Gerald Durrell visited Round Island. He found about 5,000 skinks there. To help save them, he brought some skinks to the Jersey Zoo. There, they started a special program to breed the skinks in captivity. This helped to increase their numbers safely.
Since then, the goats and rabbits have been removed from Round Island. This has helped the skink population grow even more! Now, some skinks have been moved to other islands, like Gunner's Quoin (Coin du Mire) and the Île aux Aigrettes. This is a great success story for conservation, showing how people can help protect amazing animals like the Round Island ground skink.
