{{Short description|Species of lizard}} {{italic title}} {{Speciesbox | image = Emoia impar.jpg | image_caption = In Samoa | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Hamilton, A. |author2=Allison, A. |author3=McCoy, M. |date=2012 |title=''Emoia impar'' |volume=2012 |page=e.T196605A2465325 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T196605A2465325.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Emoia | species = impar | authority = ([[Franz Werner|Werner]], 1898) | synonyms = ''Lygosoma impar'' <small>Werner, 1898</small> }} '''''Emoia impar''''', also known as the '''dark-bellied copper-striped skink''', or the '''azure-tailed skink''' is a species of [[skink]] that is widespread in the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], especially [[Polynesia]] and [[Micronesia]].<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" /> While common throughout its range, it is threatened by habitat loss, [[invasive species]], and [[sea level rise]] due to [[global warming]].<ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021" /> It is also a [[Naturalisation (biology)|naturalized species]] in the [[Hawaiian Islands]], most likely introduced by the Polynesians, but has been almost entirely extirpated from there, possibly as a result of the invasive [[Pheidole megacephala|big-headed ant]]. It disappeared from most islands by the early 20th century, persisting on the [[Na Pali Coast]] of [[Kaua'i]] until the 1960s. Alleged sightings on Kaua'i up to the 1990s were found to have been an introduced population of ''[[Emoia cyanura|E. cyanura]]'' that was introduced in the 1970s and persisted for up to two decades.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Fisher|first1=Robert|last2=Ineich|first2=Ivan|date=April 2012|title=Cryptic extinction of a common Pacific lizard Emoia impar (Squamata, Scincidae) from the Hawaiian Islands|journal=Oryx|language=en|volume=46|issue=2|pages=187–195|doi=10.1017/S0030605310001778|issn=1365-3008|doi-access=free}}</ref> While some studies have claimed that it has been entirely extirpated from Hawaii, it actually still persists on the offshore islet of [[Kalaupapa, Hawaii|Mōkapu]], [[Molokai]], where it has a stable population.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Wood|first1=Kenneth R.|last2=Burney|first2=David A.|last3=Allison|first3=Allen|last4=Fisher|first4=Robert|date=July 2013|title=Emoia impar (Squamata, Scincidae): not extinct in the Hawaiian Islands|journal=Oryx|language=en|volume=47|issue=3|pages=328|doi=10.1017/S0030605313000616|issn=0030-6053|doi-access=free}}</ref> It was seen on the [[Hawaii (island)|big island of Hawaii]], in the [[Kalapana, Hawaii|Kalapana]] area, in September, 2021. Although some sources claim ''E. impar'' to be a native species to Hawaii based on the presence of a single fossil bone,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Platt|first=John R.|date=2012|title=Blue-Tailed Skink Declared Extinct in Hawaii|newspaper=Scientific American Blog Network|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/blue-tailed-skink-declared-extinct-in-hawaii/|access-date=2016-10-08}}</ref> analysis of the sediments the bone was found in indicates it to have a comparatively recent origin.<ref name=":1" /> The species was noted to have an extremely dense and thriving population on [[Flint Island]], whose damp palm jungle creates the perfect habitat. == References == {{Reflist}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q672009}} [[Category:Emoia|impar]] [[Category:Reptiles described in 1898]] [[Category:Taxa named by Franz Werner]] [[Category:Fauna of American Samoa]] [[Category:Fauna of the Cook Islands]] [[Category:Fauna of the Federated States of Micronesia]] [[Category:Reptiles of Fiji]] [[Category:Fauna of French Polynesia]] [[Category:Reptiles of Hawaii]] [[Category:Fauna of the Marshall Islands]] [[Category:Reptiles of Papua New Guinea]] [[Category:Fauna of Samoa]] [[Category:Reptiles of the Solomon Islands]] [[Category:Fauna of Tonga]] [[Category:Reptiles of Vanuatu]]