Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Michael Bates Le Fras Mouton
Facilitators: Graham Alexander Krystal Tolley
Reviewers: Graham Alexander Adriaan Jordaan Jody Taft

Rationale (Changed due to Same category and criteria)

The species is relatively widespread with little habitat alteration within its range. It is found in a number of protected areas. There are no tangible threats, therefore the species is therefore assessed as Least Concern.

Distribution

Endemic to the Lebombo Mountains, occurring from northeastern KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, through Eswatini [Swaziland] to eastern Mpumalanga (Jacobsen 1989, Bates et al. 2014) and adjacent Mozambique (D.G. Broadley pers. comm.).

Decline

Negligible

Population trend

Trend

No information on population size or trend is currently available, but inferred to be stable given that the majority of the distribution is not heavily transformed.

Threats

Although the taxon has a restricted distribution, its habitat is secure (Jacobsen 1989). Potential threats include harvesting for the pet trade.

Uses and trade

This species is listed in CITES Appendix II, with fairly large numbers recorded by CITES as being exported. Between 2005 and 2015, about 2,900 individuals were exported from number of countries including non-range states (UNEP-WCMC 2017). The majority of these represent removals from the wild from Mozambique. About 20% of exports are recorded as captive bred or F1 with a South African origin.

It is possible that some exports of Smaug warreni were actually individuals of S. barbertonensis, because in the two are similar in appearance, and because S. barbertonensis  was previously considered a subspecies of S. warreni.

Conservation

 This species is listed in CITES Appendix II; it occurs in some protected areas. The level of trade should be investigated for this species, particularly in terms of whether removals from the wild (including parents of F1 exports) are targeting specific populations.

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}
}
,@electronic{3009,
 address = {https://trade.cites.org/},
 author = {UNEP-WCMC},
 title = {CITES Trade Database},
 year = {2017}
}
,@article{5333,
 author = {Stanley, E.L., Bauer, A.M., Jackson, T.R., Branch, W.R. and Mouton, P. le F.N. },
 journal = {Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution},
 pages = {53--70},
 title = {Between a rock and a hard polytomy: Rapid radiation in the rupicolous girdled lizards (Squamata: Cordylidae)},
 volume = {58},
 year = {2011}
}
,@techreport{5336,
 address = {Pretoria, South Africa},
 author = {Jacobsen, N.H.G.},
 institution = {Chief Directorate of Nature and Environmental Conservation},
 title = {The distribution and conservation status of reptiles and amphibians in the Transvaal. Final Report Project TN 6/4/1/30},
 year = {1989}
}
,@article{5336,
 author = {Stanley, E.L. and Bates, M.F.},
 journal = {Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society},
 number = {4},
 pages = {892–909. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12187},
 title = {Here be dragons: a phylogenetic and biogeographical study of the <i>Smaug warreni</i> species complex (Squamata: Cordylidae) in southern Africa},
 volume = {172},
 year = {2014}
}
,]
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