Spanish Scientists Launch Expedition to Find Elusive Fez Skink in Morocco

Since its discovery in 1930 by the Austrian entomologist, Richard Ebner, the Fez skink ("Chalcides ebneri") was last seen in 1970. Since then, there has been no news of this mysterious reptile of barely twenty centimeters long. Is it already dead or does it still survive in the Rif mountain range? This is the question that a group of researchers from Murcia has decided to answer by planning to go in search of this animal considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a threatened and endangered species.

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The expedition, which will take place from October 10 to 17 in the Moroccan mountains, will determine if there are still surviving specimens of the Fez skink, and if so, assess its conservation status, identify any threats and launch an environmental education campaign so that the local population is involved in their protection.

"This is not a mythological animal like the unicorn or the dragon, but it is one of the rarest and most elusive animals known," explains Pablo Perales, the environmental consultant and president of the Faunatura association, to La Verdad. "We are very excited to do this scientific expedition. The whole team is aware of the difficulties, but we have hope of finding this mysterious reptile, which would mark a before and after in its conservation and survival," he adds.

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As part of the preparation for the expedition, the group of researchers spent several hours "in the field, in the vicinity of the Lagunas de La Mata natural park, in Torrevieja, to study the type of habitat and the behavior of the closest relative of the Fez skink that we have in the southeast of the peninsula, the Iberian skink ("Chalcides bedriagai")". This training has allowed them to refine the methodology and monitoring techniques to locate the Fez skink.

The Faunatura association has launched a "crowdfunding" campaign to collect contributions of 20, 30 and 50 euros in order to organize this expedition, which will be the first of a series, as the association plans to also go in search of the Barbary panther.