Background The British Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands, two island groups located in the Caribbean archipelago, hold unique plant diversity and high endemism. Until recently, Solanum conocarpum was considered a rare plant species endemic to the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands. Ongoing botanical surveys in this region are revealing new populations and refining our understanding of the distribution of these narrow endemic plant species. The objective of this paper is to assess the conservation status of S. conocarpum, including a review of its geographic range, population numbers, threats and conservation actions needed for its long-term survival. New information In this paper, we present new occurrences for S. conocarpum, extending its geographic range to a new island, Tortola and new territory, the British Virgin Islands. Despite this range expansion, this species is evaluated as Endangered (EN), based on Criteria B1b(iii,v)+2b(iii,v)+C2a(i), according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. The extent of occurrence (EOO = 46 km2) and area of occupancy (AOO = 20 km2) are highly restricted. On St. John (US Virgin Islands), the historically recorded individuals at Reef Bay, Europa Ridge and Sabbat Point are now considered extirpated due to disturbance from development compounded by invasive species, as well as the impact of feral ungulates and drought stress. These threats are impacting the species across the whole island of St. John and contributing to a continuing decline of suitable habitat, despite the island being a National Park. On the island of Tortola, the species occurs on unprotected lands subject to development and habitat modification and decline by feral ungulates. Based on these threats acting separately across the two islands, two locations were defined. The estimated total number of mature individuals ranges between 150 and 250, with the largest subpopulation at Nanny Point in the US Virgin Islands, containing 108 mature individuals. Conservation action, focused on protecting this species' habitat, is urgently needed.

中文翻译：

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茄科珍稀灌木Solanum conocarpum的分布范围及保护现状

背景 英属维尔京群岛和美属维尔京群岛是位于加勒比群岛的两个岛群，拥有独特的植物多样性和高度的特有性。直到最近，Solanum conocarpum 被认为是美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛特有的稀有植物物种。该地区正在进行的植物调查揭示了新的种群，并加深了我们对这些狭窄的特有植物物种分布的理解。本文的目的是评估 S. conocarpum 的保护状况，包括审查其地理范围、种群数量、威胁和长期生存所需的保护行动。新信息 在本文中，我们介绍了 S. conocarpum 的新发现，将其地理范围扩展到了一个新岛屿 Tortola 和新领土英属维尔京群岛。尽管范围扩大，但根据 IUCN 红色名录类别和标准，根据标准 B1b(iii,v)+2b(iii,v)+C2a(i)，该物种被评估为濒危 (EN)。发生范围 (EOO = 46 km2) 和占用面积 (AOO = 20 km2) 受到高度限制。在圣约翰（美属维尔京群岛），历史上记录在礁湾、欧罗巴海脊和萨巴特角的个体现在被认为由于入侵物种的干扰以及野生有蹄类动物和干旱压力的影响而灭绝。尽管该岛是国家公园，但这些威胁正在影响整个圣约翰岛的物种，并导致适宜栖息地的持续减少。在托尔托拉岛上，该物种出现在未受保护的土地上，受到野生有蹄类动物的发展和栖息地改变和衰退。根据这些威胁在两个岛屿上单独行动，定义了两个位置。成熟个体的估计总数在 150 到 250 之间，美属维尔京群岛的 Nanny Point 亚群最大，包含 108 个成熟个体。迫切需要以保护该物种栖息地为重点的保护行动。