Kingdom Animalia Family Lacertidae Genus Podarcis Order Scaled reptiles | Class Reptilia Phylum Chordata Rank Subspecies | |
Similar Podarcis, Roque Chico de Salmor gi, Ameiva cineracea, Navassa curly‑tailed lizard, Scaled reptiles | ||
The Santo Stefano lizard (Podarcis sicula sanctistephani) lived on Santo Stefano Island, a small island near Ventotene in the Tyrrhenian sea off the west coast of Italy, and part of the Pontine Islands. It became extinct in 1965, probably caused by feral cats and a snake species. These animals destroyed almost the whole population and any survivors seem to have interbred with an introduced subspecies. An epidemic of an unknown pathogen that followed wiped out the majority of the population and contributed to this subspecies' extinction.
References
Santo Stefano lizard Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA