The discovery of the Fringe-Fingered Lizard is considered particularly significant against the backdrop of the disappearance of the coastal sand dunes. The lizard only exists in open dunes, unique habitats that were severely damaged in recent decades due to accelerated development, the paving of roads and urban expansion.
"The finding of the Fringe-Fingered Lizard in the Holot Yavne brings us joy," says Anat Tzafrir, an expert ecologist in the Forestry Department of the Central Region at KKL-JNF. "This proves that despite the intense pressure of environmental development, the area still continues to preserve rare values of nature, which demand attention and protection. This is a significant discovery, since if this species disappears from Israel, it will disappear entirely from the world."
The Holot Yavne Forest sprawls across a remnant of a coastal sand dunes strip and constitutes a natural anchor in an ecological corridor that connects the hills of the lowlands to the coastal plateau. This is a region that is severely underrepresented in protected areas but is characterized by a particularly high rate of unique species.
Schreiber's Fringe-Fingered Lizard. Photograph: Boaz Shaham
Alongside the Fringe-Fingered Lizard, the survey also documented additional reptiles that are typical of the sands, including the wedge-snouted skink, the crowned leafnose snake and the Greek tortoise, as well as psammophilous species (animals and plants that only or mostly live in sand) of rodents. The flora survey found rare plants that were endangered, indicating that despite the proximity to the City of Yavne and Route 4, Holot Yavne continues to serve as an important shelter for unique biological diversity in central Israel.
KKL-JNF explains that ecological surveys in the city are a tool that is intended to provide an updated snapshot on the status of the forest and nature therein and to assist in making decisions for long term management and conservation. In the past, management of the forests was based primarily upon older surveys that focused upon counting trees and estimating the amount of wood in the forest, a long and continuous process. In recent years, a new approach was adopted within which focused short surveys are conducted, which examined not only the trees but also the plant life, animal life and the entire ecosystem, in accordance with the needs in the field.