When a former student sent William Mautz, a professor emeritus of biology at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Hilo, a snapshot of a lizard once thought to be extinct in Â鶹´«Ã½—he was instantly curious.
It was a recently snapped photograph of what appeared to be an azure-tailed skink, a lizard species once commonly found in the Hawaiian Islands and only known to dwell on a tiny 10-acre islet off Molokaʻi. UH Hilo alumnus Aaron Mickelson sent Mautz the photo to get his expert opinion.
“I said I know what it is, but it is not supposed to be here anymore,” Mautz explained. “The little brown skinks common in Hilo backyards are a different species called the delicate skink. They may have a slate-colored tail but it is not a true blue. The azure-tailed skink also has a stripe over the top of its head.”
To confirm its existence on Â鶹´«Ã½ Island, Mautz set off on a hike to the lizard population spotted within a small grove of pandanus trees at the edge of the ocean cliffs near N¨©nole on the H¨¡m¨¡kua Coast. Mautz recently published an article about the species¡¯ rediscovery in .
According to Mautz, the disappearance of azure-tailed skinks across the Hawaiian Archipelago throughout the past 100 years could be linked to feral cats, rats, mongoose and invasive species of ants.
“The other difficulty for cliff-edge populations of wildlife on Â鶹´«Ã½ Island is that residential property development is rapidly proceeding on the H¨¡m¨¡kua Coast,” Mautz said. “Newer developers favor ocean views over small farms and set landscaped houses close to the edge of the sea cliffs.”
So far, Mautz¡¯ findings are unable to confirm if the azure-tailed skinks are restricted to pandanus tree groves and if there are other populations of the lizards elsewhere on the island.
“There is a rumored sighting of a blue-tailed skink in pandanus forest in the Kohala Mountains,” he said. “I have been searching the fragmented cliff-top pandanus groves on the H¨¡m¨¡kua Coast and Kohala Mountains for more lost treasure lizards, so far without luck.”