Background Varronia bellonis (Urb.) Britton is a lianescent or recumbent shrub that is endemic to Puerto Rico where it is restricted to specific geology types with a limited extent on the western half of the Island. The species occurs on serpentinite geology covered by serpentine-derived soils in the west-central mountains and on limestone geology in the the northern karst region. The species area of occupancy is estimated to range between 108 km2 and 268 km2 and its extent of occurrence to be between 644 km2 and 852 km2. The number of locations are estimated to be four. There are 418 known mature individuals in the wild (Hamilton 2020a). The species was previously assessed as Critically Endangered (Linsky and Sustache 2014), based on available information. However, an international team have been collaborating to conserve the species and, based on new information derived from this work, the species is reassessed as Endangered (EN), based on Criteria B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v), according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria (version 3.1) and guidelines (IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee 2019). New information Areas of suitable habitat across the native range of the threatened plant, V. bellonis, were surveyed by a team of experts between 2016 and 2019 to determine the species habitat preferences, identify threats to the species survival and provide an up-to-date meta-population status. The new information enabled members of the international team to reassess the species status and will enable sound and scientifically-based recovery actions to be recommended that can secure Varronia bellonis populations for the future. Parallel efforts are ongoing to explore the species population genetics and reproductive biology.

中文翻译：

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重新评估 Varronia bellonis - 一种来自波多黎各的受威胁的特有植物

背景 Varronia bellonis (Urb.) Britton 是一种连生或横卧灌木，是波多黎各特有的，在该岛的西半部仅限于特定的地质类型。该物种出现在中西部山区由蛇纹石衍生的土壤覆盖的蛇纹岩地质和北部喀斯特地区的石灰岩地质上。该物种的栖息面积估计在 108 平方公里至 268 平方公里之间，其发生范围在 644 平方公里至 852 平方公里之间。地点的数量估计为四个。野外已知有 418 只成熟个体（Hamilton 2020a）。根据现有信息，该物种先前被评估为极度濒危（Linsky and Sustache 2014）。然而，一个国际团队一直在合作保护该物种，并且，根据从这项工作中获得的新信息，根据标准 B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)，该物种被重新评估为濒危物种 (EN) IUCN 红色名录类别和标准（3.1 版）和指南（IUCN 标准和请愿委员会 2019）。新信息 专家团队在 2016 年至 2019 年期间对受威胁植物 V. bellonis 原生范围内的适宜栖息地区域进行了调查，以确定物种栖息地偏好，确定对物种生存的威胁并提供最新的日期元种群状态。新信息使国际团队的成员能够重新评估物种状况，并将推荐合理且基于科学的恢复行动，以确保未来的 Varronia bellonis 种群。