The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing federal protections for a Florida lizard found only on 10 islands just off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Cedar Key mole skink, which has found its habitat altered by climate change and land development, would be listed as endangered, the agency said.
In proposing the Endangered Species Act protections for the small lizard, FWS also outlined 2,713 acres of critical habitat on the Cedar Key islands, which are southwest of Gainesville. Known to burrow underground, the mole skinks are often found under leaves, seagrass and logs on beaches, the agency said in a news release.
About 40 percent of the proposed critical habitat in Levy County would overlap with proposed habitat for the red knot, a bird already listed as a threatened species.
