RAQUEL VASCONCELOS´ RESEARCH ON REPTILES OF CABO VERDE, AS PART OF THE MONACO EXPLORATIONS CAMPAIGN, HIGHLIGHTED BY “JORNAL DA ECONOMIA DO MAR”

The Monaco Explorations is a scientific expedition conducted by the Oceanographic Institute of the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco which aims at supporting the work of researchers around the world and to build a new vision for the ocean. During the Cabo Verde mission, Monaco Explorations campaign had the presence of Monseigneur the Prince Albert II of Monaco and the participation of the CIBIO-InBIO researcher Raquel Vasconcelos, leading the study of the giant skink Chioninia coctei and the giant wall gecko Tarentola gigas, which attracted the attention of the “Jornal da Economia do Mar”.

The giant skink was endemic to the Cabo Verde Islands, and recorded from the islets Branco and Raso. Unfortunately, this lizard is now extinct and several surveys have failed to rediscover on Cabo Verde. The giant wall gecko is also endemic to Cabo Verde and classified as Endangered by the IUCN. During the mission, the herpetological research team, which also included Aurélien Miralles from the National Museum of Natural History of Paris, looked for evidences of the giant skink occurrence and collected samples to conduct a study, using molecular tools, about the diet of the giant wall gecko and its differentiation through the distinct islands. The research has the participation of the University of Cabo Verde (Uni-CV) in a collaboration with CIBIO-InBIO under the scope of the TwinLab CIBIO Uni-CV. According to Raquel Vasconcelos “it is important to remind that we are all responsible for protecting threatened species”. The studies conducted during this expedition will contribute to design efficient action plans to preserve the giant wall gecko.

To know more about this topic, please follow the link:
“Monaco Explorations em expedição pela Macaronésia” | Jornal da Economia do Mar | October, 02, 2017 (Information available in Portuguese)

To know more about Cabo Verde mission of Monaco Explorations, please follow the link:

http://monacoexplorations.org/the-selvagens-islands-part-one-days-20-22/