Mertens, R. (1942) - Lacerta goliath n. sp., eine ausgestorbene Rieseneidechse von den Kanaren. - Senckenbergiana, Frankfurt/Main, 25: 330-339. Castillo, C. & Rando, J. C. & Zamora, J. F. (1994) - Discovery of mummified extinct giant lizards (Gallotia goliath, Lacertidae) in Tenerife, Canary Islands. - Bonner zoologische Beiträge, Bonn, 45 (2): 129-136.   × Two mummified specimens of the extinct giant lizard Gallotia goliath have recently been discovered in the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands). For the first time they allow the study of the species` external morphology. It is characterized by its large size (estimated length >1,5 m) and a low number of temporal scales. Pholidotic characteristics and the dentition provide evidence for a closer relationships between G. goliath and G. simonyi, a species which has recently disappeared from the Roque Chico de Salmor but has survived on the island of El Hierro. Gallotia goliath probably became extinct in Tenerife as a consequence of habitat perturbations resulting from human impact and the introduction of new predators. Also, competition between juvenile giant lizards and adults of the smaller species G. galloti may have contributed to the decline of the giant lizard. Maca-Meyer, N. & Carranza, S. & Rando, J.C. & Arnold, E.N. & Cabrera, V.M. (2003) - Status and relationships of the extinct giant Canary island lizard Gallotia goliath (Reptilia:Lacertidae), assessed using ancient mtDNA from its mummified remains. - Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 80: 659-670. × Ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences (378 base pairs of cytochrome b and 368 of 12S rRNA) extracted from a mum-
mified extinct giant lizard, Gallotia goliath, from eastern Tenerife, Canary Islands, were used to assess the species
status and relationship of this form within the genus. G. goliath is clearly a member of the G. simonyi group of the
western Canary islands (Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma) and is not closely related to the giant
G. stehlini of Gran Canaria. Contrary to recent opinion, it is phylogenetically distinct, within the G. simonyi group,
from the extant G. simonyi of El Hierro and also from the recently discovered live G. gomerana on La Gomera and
from G. intermedia in north-western Tenerife. It may be the sister taxon of either all the other members of the
G. simonyi group or of G. intermedia. The phylogenetic distinctness of G. goliath makes Tenerife unique among oce-
anic islands in having had one giant and two medium-sized lizard species that were probably substantially herbiv-
orous, the others being G. intermedia and G. galloti. Gallotia shows great community differences on other islands in
the Canaries, two having a single small species, one a single giant, and three a giant and a medium-sized form. Crowley, B.E. & Yanes, Y. & Mosher, S.G. & Rando, J.C. (2019) - Revisiting the Foraging Ecology and Extinction History of Two Endemic Vertebrates from Tenerife, Canary Islands. - Quaternary 2019, 2, 10; doi:10.3390/quat2010010 × We used carbon (_13C) and nitrogen (_15N) isotopes to examine the foraging ecology of Tenerife giant rats (Canariomys bravoi) and lizards (Gallotia goliath) in northwestern Tenerife, which until recently, were the island’s largest terrestrial vertebrates. We combined new isotope data for 28 C. bravoi and 14 G. goliath with published regional data for both species and then compared these with data for co-occurring extant taxa and modern C3 plants. Isotope data suggest both extinct species relied primarily on C3 resources and were trophic omnivores. However, the two species appear to have partitioned their resources when living in sympatry. Isotopic overlap between C. bravoi and Rattus spp., and between G. goliath, extant Gallotia galloti, and introduced rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) suggests reliance on similar foods. We radiocarbon dated four C. bravoi and two G. goliath with the most extreme isotope values. These new dates do not settle the question of what triggered the demise of either species. Nevertheless, the data are most consistent with anthropogenically-induced extinction. Temporal isotopic trends contradict expectations if regional climate were responsible, and confidence intervals for radiocarbon dates suggest it is highly likely that both species were present when humans first settled the island.
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