Cryptoblepharus egeriae: Difference between revisions

| synonyms_ref =<ref>"''{{EMBL species|genus=Cryptoblepharus |species=egeriae'' ". The Reptile Database.}} www.reptile-database.org.</ref>

'''''Cryptoblepharus egeriae''''', also known [[Common name|commonly]] as the '''blue-tailed shinning-skink''', the '''Christmas Island blue-tailed shinning-skink''', and the '''Christmas Island blue-tailed skink''', is a [[species]] of [[lizard]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Scincidae]]. The species once inhabited [[Christmas Island]]. The Christmas Island blue-tailed skink was discovered in 1886.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |lastauthor=Boulenger |first=G. A. GA|date=2009-08-201888 |title=On the Reptiles of Christmas Island |url=https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1888.tb06729.x |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=561888 |issue=1 |pages=534–536 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1888.tb06729.x |issn=0370-2774}} (''Ablepharus egeriae'', new species, pp. 535–536).</ref> In 2002 scientists with the Christmas Island National Parks discovered that the yellow crazy ant (''[[yellow crazy ant|Anoplolepis gracilipes]]'') was becoming a threat to the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Yellow crazy ant biocontrol |url=https://parksaustralia.gov.au/christmas/discover/nature/conservation/yellow-crazy-ant-biocontrol/ |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=parksaustralia.gov.au |language=en-au}}</ref> Since its introduction in 1980 the yellow crazy ant had started to massively disrupt the [[biodiversity]] on Christmas Island.<ref name=":0" /> This discovery put the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink on the endangered animals list in 2006.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Options beyond captivity for two critically endangered Christmas Island reptiles |url=https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/projects/options-beyond-captivity-for-two-critically-endangered-christmas-island-reptiles#:~:text=The%20blue-tailed%20skink%20(Cryptoblepharus,rapidly%20from%20the%20late%201980s. |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au}}</ref> By 2009 [[Taronga Zoo]] decided to start an active breeding program in hopes of being able to release some of the skinks back into the wild.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Saving the Blue-Tailed Skink |url=http://taronga.org.au/media-release/2019-09-12/saving-blue-tailed-skink |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=Saving the Blue-Tailed Skink {{!}} Taronga Conservation Society Australia |language=en}}</ref> However, by 2010 the Christmas Island blue-tailed skink was [[extinct in the wild]].