The Reunion Slit-eyed Skink was endemic to La Réunion in the Indian Ocean.

The species was last collected in 1839, its extinction is attributed to the Wolf Snake (Lycodon capucinus F. Boie), a small, mildly venomous snake from South Asia specialized in hunting small reptiles, that was accidently introduced to the Mascarene Islands in the middle of the 19th century. [1]

The Reunion Slit-eyed Skink’s next living relative is Bojer’s Skink (Gongylomorphus bojerii (Desjardins)) (see photo below), which is restricted to the island of Mauritius.

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References:

[1] Anthony Cheke; Julian P. Hume: Lost Land of the Dodo: The ecological history of Mauritius, Réunion, and Redrigues. Yale University Press 2008

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Bojer’s Skink (Gongylomorphus bojerii)

Photo: Ben Dymond
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/gagnebina

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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edited: 04.05.2022