REVIEW OF FIVE NON-CITES REPTILES THAT ARE KNOWN OR LIKELY TO BE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE (Version edited for public release) Prepared for the A report to the European Commission Directorate General Environment ENV.E.2. – Environmental Agreements and Trade by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre August, 2009 PREPARED FOR UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre The European Commission, Brussels, Belgium 219 Huntingdon Road Cambridge CB3 0DL DISCLAIMER United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1223 277314 The contents of this report do not necessarily Fax: +44 (0) 1223 277136 reflect the views or policies of UNEP or Email: [email protected] contributory organisations. The designations Website: www.unep-wcmc.org employed and the presentations do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on ABOUT UNEP-WORLD CONSERVATION the part of UNEP, the European Commission MONITORING CENTRE or contributory organisations concerning the The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre legal status of any country, territory, city or (UNEP-WCMC), based in Cambridge, UK, is the area or its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. specialist biodiversity information and assessment centre of the United Nations Environment © Copyright: 2009, European Commission Programme (UNEP), run cooperatively with WCMC 2000, a UK charity. The Centre's mission is to evaluate and highlight the many values of biodiversity and put authoritative biodiversity knowledge at the centre of decision-making. Through the analysis and synthesis of global biodiversity knowledge the Centre provides authoritative, strategic and timely information for conventions, countries and organisations to use in the development and implementation of their policies and decisions. The UNEP-WCMC provides objective and scientifically rigorous procedures and services. These include ecosystem assessments, support for the implementation of environmental agreements, global and regional biodiversity information, research on threats and impacts, and the development of future scenarios. CITATION UNEP-WCMC (2009). Review of non-CITES reptiles that are known or likely to be in international trade (five additional species). A Report to the European Commission. UNEP- WCMC, Cambridge. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 4 SPECIES REVIEWS ............................................................................................................... 4 Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 4 SPECIES: Celestus warreni ............................................................................................................... 7 SPECIES: Nephrurus deleani .......................................................................................................... 10 SPECIES: Ctenosaura palearis ........................................................................................................ 13 SPECIES: Ctenosaura quinquecarinata ........................................................................................... 16 SPECIES: Pituophis ruthveni ........................................................................................................... 19 ANNEX I ............................................................................................................................... 22 3 Introduction 1. INTRODUCTION For SRG 48 (June, 2009), a study was conducted to identify reptile species which were not listed in CITES or the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations but for which there was evidence of international trade, particularly within the European Union (UNEP-WCMC, 2009). Based on a survey of 24 websites offering reptiles for sale within the EU, the study identified 75 species as being commonly in trade (advertised on five or more websites) and a further 14 species that were less common in trade (advertised on fewer than five websites) but were considered globally threatened in the IUCN Red List. In-depth reviews were conducted for ten of the 89 species to see whether they met the criteria for listing in any of Annexes A, B or D1 of Council Regulation 338/97 (Annex I). These reviews were discussed at SRG 48. At SRG 48, five additional species were selected by the SRG for future in-depth reviews, as they were either Critically Endangered or Endangered and found advertised for sale on at least one EU website. These species are reviewed in this report. SPECIES REVIEWS Methods For each of the species selected for review, an extensive literature review was conducted to establish each species‘ conservation status in all range states. In the absence of CITES trade data, trade patterns were assessed using internet searches, which were undertaken during the week of 27th July, 2009. This included Google searches conducted following the methodology by UNEP-WCMC (2009) and updated searches of the 24 EU websites (including reptile importers, wholesalers, retailers, and classifieds advertisements) that were used to compile the initial list of non-CITES reptiles currently offered for sale within the EU (UNEP-WCMC, 2009). References UNEP-WCMC. 2009. Review of non-CITES reptiles that are known or likely to be in international trade. A report to the European Commission. UNEP-WCMC. Cambridge, UK. 1 Annex C was not considered relevant as it includes only species listed in CITES Appendices II or III. 4 Celestus warreni REVIEW OF FIVE NON-CITES REPTILES THAT ARE KNOWN OR LIKELY TO BE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE REPTILIA ANGUIDAE SPECIES: Celestus warreni SYNONYMS: Diploglossus warreni, Celestus carraui COMMON NAMES: Warren's Galliwasp (English) RANGE STATES: Dominican Republic, Haiti IUCN RED LIST: Critically Endangered TRADE PATTERNS: This species was selected for review at SRG 48 because its global threat status is Critically Endangered and there was evidence that it was being offered for sale within the EU: in a survey of internet trade conducted in March 2009, Diploglossus warreni was seen advertised on the French website www.lafermetropicale.com for €145, although unavailable, with no information on source (UNEP-WCMC, 2009). The following information was derived from an internet survey conducted in July 2009, as outlined in section 2 of this report: The species was no longer advertised on the French website www.lafermetropicale.com. Advertised on the German website www.animal-paradies.de, which indicated that the species was rarely available and not available at present. No information on price. A hobbyist on the German website http://terraristik.com/tb/list_classifieds_int.php expressed interest in obtaining the species (posted May 2009). Powell et al. (2000) reported that C. warreni/C. carraui specimens had a history of unsuccessful captive breeding. CONSERVATION STATUS in range states Taxonomic note: Hedges (1996) reassessed the taxonomy of the species and assigned Diploglossus warreni to Celestus warreni. This appears to be generally accepted (e.g. Powell and Henderson, 2003; McGinnity and Powell, 2004; Savage et al., 2008). Additional taxonomic re- evaluations indicated that Celestus carraui (restricted to the Dominican Republic) should be considered a synonym of Celestus warreni (Powell and Henderson, 2003). Celestus warreni is a burrowing galliwasp endemic to northern Haiti and northern Dominican Republic (Powell et al., 2000; McGinnity and Powell, 2004). It was classified as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List (McGinnity and Powell, 2004), with the following justification: “Although the generation length is not known with any certainty […], an 80% reduction over the last twenty years seems reasonable, and this triggers a Critically Endangered 5 Celestus warreni listing. The extent of occurrence is <100 km² and the area of occupancy is <10 km². There is continuing decline in the extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, habitat and numbers of locations and the remaining habitat is severely fragmented.‖ The major threats to this species were reported to be deforestation and habitat degradation due to subsistence agriculture, charcoal production and other types of habitat loss (Powell and Henderson, 2003; McGinnity and Powell, 2004). Dominican Republic: Powell et al. (2000) gave the following information on C. carraui (now recognised as C. warreni) in the Dominican Republic: ―The Dominican endemic C. carraui has a restricted distribution; although several localities are known, each probably represents a very small, isolated population. Sites of collection are in xeric and mesic situations at moderate elevations (200-300 m) north and south of the Cordillera Septentrional (Schwartz and Henderson, 1991). Only a few specimens have been collected in recent years […] [B}ecause these large and rather spectacular animals would not escape notice if encountered, they are probably rare throughout their range.‖ Powell et al. (2000) classified C. carraui in the Dominican Republic as Endangered (Powell et al., 2000). According to the IUCN assessment (McGinnity and Powell, 2004), ―it appears that all the subpopulations in the Dominican Republic (those that constituted C. carraui) may be largely extirpated. The last collection was of a female collected in the Puerto Plata area, but there are occasional reports of sightings made by local people (S.J. Incháustegui and M. Hernández, pers. comm. 2004)‖. It was reported that reptiles