Iberolacerta cyreni

– Endangered

Taxonomy

Kingdom:	ANIMALIA
Phylum:	CHORDATA
Class:	REPTILIA
Order:	SQUAMATA
Family:	LACERTIDAE
Scientific Name:	Iberolacerta cyreni
Species Authority:	(Müller & Helmich, 1937)
Synonym/s:	Lacerta cyreni Müller & Hellmich, 1937 Lacerta monticola ssp. cyreni Müller & Hellmich, 1937
Taxonomic Notes:	This taxon is considered to be a full species based on evidence from Arribas (1996), Carranza et al. (2004), Crochet et al. (2004), Mayer and Arribas (1996, 2003) and Odierna et al. (1996). It was formerly treated as a subspecies of Lacerta monticola. The specific status of this taxon is supported by morphology (Arribas 1996), allozymes (Mayer and Arribas 1996) and mitochondrial DNA (Mayer and Arribas 2003; Carranza et al. 2004a; Crochet et al. 2004). It was formerly included in the genus Lacerta, but is now included in Iberolacerta, following Carranza et al. (2004), and based on evidence from Arribas (1998, 1999), Carranza et al. (2004), Harris et al. (1998) and Mayer and Arribas (2003).

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:	EN B1ab(iii) ver 3.1 (2001)
Year Assessed:	2006
Assessor/s:	Pérez-Mellado, V. & Cheylan, M.
Evaluator/s:	Stuart, S.N. & Cox, N. (Global Reptile Assessment)
Justification:	Listed as Endangered because its extent of occurrence is less than 5,000 km², its distribution is severely fragmented, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat.

Geographic Range

Range Description:	This species is endemic to the central mountain system of Spain in the Sierra de Bejar, Sierra de Gredos, La Serrota and Sierra del Guadarrama. It occurs from 1,300 to 2,500 m.
Range Map:	(click for detailed map)
Countries:	Native: Spain

Population

Population:	It is a reasonably common species in several areas.
Population Trend:

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:

It is a montane species found close to the tree line in damp, rocky habitats. The females lay a clutch of three to ten eggs once or twice a year.

System:

Terrestrial

List of Habitats:

1.4	Forest - Temperate
3.4	Shrubland - Temperate
4.4	Grassland - Temperate
6	Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)
14.3	Artificial/Terrestrial - Plantations

Threats

Threats:

Its populations are highly fragmented and are threatened by habitat loss, especially due to the construction of ski resorts and roads. It might also be adversely affected in future by climate change.

List of Threats:

1.4.3	Habitat Loss/Degradation - Infrastructure development - Tourism/recreation (ongoing)
1.4.4	Habitat Loss/Degradation - Infrastructure development Transport (land/air) (ongoing)
6.1.1	Pollution (affecting habitat and/or species) - Atmospheric pollution - Global warming/oceanic warming (present, future)

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

It occurs in the Sierra del Guadarrama Natural Park and Sierra de Gredos Natural Park.

List of Conservation Actions:

1.1.1	Policy-based actions - Management plans - Development (in place, needed)
1.2.1.2	Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - National level (in place)
3.1	Research actions - Taxonomy (in place)
3.2	Research actions - Population numbers and range (in place, needed)
3.3	Research actions - Biology and Ecology (needed)
3.4	Research actions - Habitat status (in place, needed)
3.5	Research actions - Threats (in place, needed)
3.8	Research actions - Conservation measures (needed)
3.9	Research actions - Trends/Monitoring (needed)
4.1	Habitat and site-based actions - Maintenance/Conservation (in place, needed)
4.4.1	Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Identification of new protected areas (needed)
4.4.2	Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Establishment (in place)
4.4.3	Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Management (in place, needed)

Bibliography

Bibliography:

Andreu, A., Bea, A., Braña, F., Galán, P., López-Jurado, L.F., Pérez-Mellado, V., Pleguezuelos, J.M. and Salvador, A. 1998. Reptiles. Fauna Ibérica 10: 1–705.

Arribas, O.J. 1996. Taxonomic revision of the Iberian 'Archaeolacertae" I: A new interpretation of the geographical variation of 'Lacerta' monticola Boulenger 1905 and 'Lacerta' cyreni Müller & Hellmich 1937 (Squamata: Sauria: Lacertidae). Herpetozoa 9: 31–56

Arribas, O.J. 1998. Osteology of the Pyreanean mountain lizards and comparison with other species of the collective genus Archaeolacerta Mertens, 1921 s.l. from Europe and Asia Minor. Herpetozoa 11: 155–180.

Arribas, O.J. 1999. Phylogeny and relationships of the mountain lizards of Europe and Near East (Archaeolacerta Mertens, 1921, sensu lato) and their relationships among the eurasian lacertid radiation. Russian Journal of Herpetology 6(1): 1–22.

Carranza, S., Arnold, E.N. and Amat, F. 2004. DNA phylogeny of Lacerta (Iberolacerta) and other lacertine lizards (Reptilia: Lacertidae): did competition cause long-term mountain restriction? Systematics and Biodiversity 2: 57–77.

Crochet, P.-A., Chaline, O., Surget-Groba, Y., Debain, C. and Cheylan, M. 2004. Speciation in mountains: phylogeography and phylogeny of the rock lizards genus Iberolacerta (Reptilia: Lacertidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30(3): 860–866

Harris, D.J., Arnold, E.N. and Thomas, R.H. 1998. Relationships of lacertid lizards (Reptilia: Lacertidae) estimated from mitochondrial DNA sequences and morphology. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 265: 1939–1948.

Mayer, W. and Arribas, O.J. 1996. Allozyme differentiation and relationship among the Iberian-Pyrenean Mountain Lizards (Squamata: Sauria: Lacertidae). Herpetozoa 9(1/2): 57–61

Mayer, W. and Arribas, O.J. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships of the European lacertid genera Archaeolacerta and Iberolacerta and their relationships to some other ‘Archaeolacertae’ (sensu lato) from Near East, derived from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Journal of zoological Systematics & evolutionary Research 41: 157–161.

Pérez-Mellado, V., Barbadillo, L. J., Barahona, F., Brown, R.P., Corti, C., Guerrero, F. and Lanza, B. 1993. A systematic survey of the Iberian rock lizard Lacerta monticola Boulenger, 1905. In: E.D> Valakos, W. Böhme, V. Pérez-Mellado & P. Maragou (eds) Lacertids of the Mediterranean region. pp: 85-105 Hellenic Zoological Society, Athens

Citation:	Pérez-Mellado, V. & Cheylan, M. 2006. Iberolacerta cyreni. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 July 2008.
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