Amateur researcher Tomas Mazuch discovered a species of lizard (Xenagama wilmsi) in Somalia with a round flat tail. Actually, he was assisted by Phillip Wagner, a professional expert working at a museum in Bonn. They figured out two previously known species that look very similar, were not the ones people had assumed. Xenagama batillifera (Beaver-tailed
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joins numerous conservation organizations to observe Endangered Species Day on May 20, 2011. The purpose of the special day is to “recognize conservation efforts underway across the nation aimed at helping America’s imperiled species.”
Wildlife conservation and restoration projects are happening all over this land, some maybe in your own neck of the woods/neighborhood.
12% of Mexican lizards have gone extinct from global warming in the past 25 years, 4% have gone extinct worldwide, and 39% are expected to go extinct worldwide from global warming by 2080. I’ve written on lizards going extinct from climate change in the past, and I’m sure others have as well since theoretical models
Lizards are fairly robust and adaptive creatures owing to their ability to tolerate high body temperatures and resist water loss, but warming trends seem to be pushing temperatures past the thermal threshold that these reptiles need for successful reproduction and long-term survival.
