Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It is my understanding that the rainforest that cresties natuarly occur in was 90% destroyed at the time of thier re-discovery . Does anyone know has the last 10% come under protection or are these animals in danger of extinction in the wild? Pat H

Pat,

I'm not sure where you read that. I've got a book called The Herpetofauna of New Caledonia that I've been been reading, which gives all kinds of natural history information, topographical information, etc., so I'll have to look and see what it says.

As far as I can remember, R. ciliatus is in no immediate danger of becoming extinct...but I could be wrong. I know that it's expected that the captive bred population of Crested Geckos will surpass the wild population in the next few years. Considering how many ciliatus are being bred in captivity already, I would assume that the wild population is doing just fine.

That said, I do know that deforestation is becoming a problem for mainland populations of R. l. leachianus. There are also populations of R. leachianus henkeli that were in such bad shape just a few years ago (due to introduced ants and introduced rats, not deforestation) that they were expected to become extinct by now.

-Anthony

>>It is my understanding that the rainforest that cresties natuarly occur in was 90% destroyed at the time of thier re-discovery . Does anyone know has the last 10% come under protection or are these animals in danger of extinction in the wild? Pat H
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

Anthony,

would you mind telling me where you got the book? Is this the one written by Aaron Bauer?

Brandon

Brandon,

Yes, it's the one by Bauer and Sadlier. I got it through the KC Herp Society. Unfortunately, our supplier can't get any more copies of it and I believe it's out of print.

-Anthony

>>Anthony,
>>
>>would you mind telling me where you got the book? Is this the one written by Aaron Bauer?
>>
>>Brandon
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

You may be able to get it from the publisher still...

http://www.herplit.com/SSAR/contributions/contributions.html

Volume 17.
The Herpetofauna of New Caledonia, by Aaron M. Bauer and Ross A. Sadlier. French translations by Ivan Ineich. 2000. 322 p., 63 figures, 189 color photographs of animals and habitats. Clothbound $60.00.

SSAR Publications may be purchased from:
Breck Bartholomew, Publications Secretary
Post Office Box 58517
Salt Lake City, Utah 84158-0517, USA.
Telephone and Fax: (801) 453-0489.
E-mail: ssar@herplit.com

-Randy