Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard |
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| Conservation status | |
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Extinct (ca. 1930s)
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Lacertidae |
| Genus: | Gallotia |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
†G. s. simonyi
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| Trinomial name | |
| Gallotia simonyi simonyi (Steindachner, 1889)
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The Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard (Gallotia simonyi simonyi) was a special type of large lizard. It was the main kind of the Gallotia simonyi species, which is a type of wall lizard. This lizard used to live on a tiny island near El Hierro in the Canary Islands.
Where It Lived
The Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard was only found on a small rocky islet called Roque Chico de Salmor. This islet is located off the northwest coast of Valverde municipality on El Hierro.
Why It Disappeared
Sadly, the Gallotia simonyi simonyi disappeared around the 1930s. There were a few reasons why this happened:
- Too many lizards were caught. People collected them for scientific studies and also to sell them. This meant not enough lizards were left to have babies and keep the population going.
- Wild cats hunted them. These cats were not native to the island and became a big problem for the lizards.
- Large seagulls, like the herring gull, might have also hunted the lizards.
These reasons combined led to the extinction of this unique giant lizard.
See also
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Roque Chico de Salmor giant lizard Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.