A recent report in the journal Nature revealed that more than 1 in 5 reptile species worldwide is threatened with extinction and that the threat was greater in forest-dwelling reptiles rather than those in deserts.
That’s a sobering statistic for Coastal Georgia, whose forests, beaches and wetlands boast an impressive diversity of reptile species. Georgia ranks seventh among the U.S. states for the number of reptile species that call it home – 83. And most of those are concentrated along the coast, said Daniel Sollenberger, wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Sollenberger, a herpetologist, said the issues facing reptiles on the Georgia coast are similar to the larger threats outlined in the Nature article.
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