The research results (2019) of Miyako Kana Snake by the Faculty of Science of Okinawa Prefectural Miyako High School were accepted and published in the journal of the Okinawa Biology Society (No. 60).The paper reveals that the Miyakokana snake lived close to us until the 1970s.
The Miyako Kana Snake is an endemic species of the Miyako Islands, and is a lizard characterized by a green body color, an elongated body shape, and a long tail that cuts itself. Until it was described as a new species in 1996, knowledge of past habitat was limited. Since the 2010s, it has been pointed out that the population has declined, and it is now threatened with extinction.
Therefore, in 2019, the science department of Okinawa Prefectural Miyako High School (3 third graders at that time) visited the city's elderly homes and public halls and public facilities (7 places) as club activities, and was in their 10s to 50 years old. We interviewed 100 people directly and investigated the past habitat of this species.
As a result, this species was witnessed over a wide area of Irabu Island and Miyako Island, and there were many witnesses especially in the area from the center to the east of Miyako Island.By age group, the percentage of witnesses was particularly high in the 1950s, exceeding 1970% even in the 20s.In addition, many respondents mentioned dialect names, such as when they were playing or saw them in their garden.From this, it was found that before the 1970s, Miyako Kana Snake was relatively familiar to people in a wide area of Irabu Island and Miyako Island.
The dissertation compiled by members of the Miyako High School Science Department has won the 2020 Youth Science Exhibition Okinawa Governor's Award.In the future, the content will be important and suggestive for advancing species conservation measures.
In research and writing papers, the NPO Animal Hospital Okinawa, which is engaged in conservation and dissemination activities for the endangered Miyako Islands endangered Miyako Islands, Mamoru Toda, Associate Professor of the Ryukyu University Tropical Biosphere Research Center, and World Nature Conservation Fund Japan provided research support, guidance, and advice.