Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Aaron Bauer Werner Conradie Johan Marais
Contributors: Josh Weeber
Facilitators: Graham Alexander Krystal A Tolley
Reviewers: John Measey Alex Rebelo Nicolas Telford

Rationale (Changed due to New Information|Knowledge of criteria)

There is moderate habitat loss within this species small range (extent of occurrence is ca 7,200 km2) but the overall distribution has large areas of intact habitat and several protected areas (Geo Terra 2015). The species is therefore considered Least Concern.


Distribution

Endemic to the Western Cape Province of South Africa, where it occurs from Doringbaai in the north to Robben Island in the south (Bates et al. 2014). The most inland records are from Graafwater. Also known to occur on Dassen Island (Branch 1998).

Population trend

Trend

The species is inferred to be stable, given that large areas of its habitat are intact and it is relatively common in such areas.

Threats

Development of the coastal zone for human settlement and recreation, as well as habitat destruction by off-road vehicles, agricultural practices, mining and human settlements could pose threats in future.

Uses and trade

Not known to be utilized or traded in any way.

Conservation

The range coincides with a protected area. Heideman et al. (2011) determined that the subpopulation of S. gronovii at Elands Bay and the nearby Steenboksfontein Farm may represent a distinct species. The taxonomic status of these subpopulations needs to be further investigated.

References 

[@electronic{181632,
 address = {www.iucnredlist.org},
 author = {IUCN},
 title = {The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2018-2},
 year = {2018}
}
,@book{612,
 address = {Pretoria},
 author = {Bates, M.F., Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M., Burger, M., Marais, J., Alexander, G.J. and de Villiers, M.S.},
 publisher = {Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute},
 title = {Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland},
 year = {2014}
}
,@book{2817,
 address = {Cape Town},
 author = {Branch, W.R.},
 publisher = {Struik Publishers},
 title = {Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Second Edition},
 year = {1998}
}
,@techreport{11227,
 author = {Geo Terra Image},
 title = {Technical Report: 2013/2014 South African National Land Cover Dataset version 5. Pretoria},
 year = {2015}
}
,@article{19954,
 author = {Heideman, N.J., Mulcahy, D.G., Sites, J.W., Hendricks, M.G. and Daniels, S.R. },
 journal = {Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution},
 pages = {823--833},
 title = {Cryptic diversity and morphological convergence in threatened species of fossorial skinks in the genus <i>Scelotes</i> (Squamata: Scincidae) from the Western Cape Coast of South Africa: Implications for species boundaries, digit reduction and conservation},
 volume = {61},
 year = {2011}
}
,]
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