Three New Species of ‘Dwarf Dragon’ Discovered in South America
Three New Species of ‘Dwarf Dragon’ Discovered in South America
By Luke Hurst 4/6/15 at 12:18 PM
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Enyalioides sophiarothschildae - one of three new species of wood-lizard discovered in the Andes of Peru and Ecuador. Pablo J. Venegas
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Three new species of dragon-like creatures have been discovered in the Andean cloud forests of Ecuador and Peru.
The new species of wood-lizards - called Enyalioides altotambo, Enyalioides anisolepis and Enyalioides sophiarothschildae - were discovered in an area described by conservation group Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund as “the global epicentre of biodiversity” with “20,000 plants found nowhere else and at least 1,500 unique terrestrial vertebrates, including a spectacular array of birds and amphibians”.
Recording the findings in the journal Zookeys, the authors explain that numerous recent discoveries - 40% of all species of wood lizards in the two countries have been discovered in the last seven years - could be explained by the previously poorly explored terrain in the Andean cloud forests.
Assessing DNA samples following expeditions to the cloud forests, Omar Torres-Carvajal from Museo de Zoología QCAZ in Ecuador, Pablo J. Venegas from CORBIDI, Peru, and Kevin de Queiroz from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in the U.S. realised they had discovered three new species.
The findings were somewhat surprising, they write, because the lizards are some of the largest and most colourful to be found in the Andes. The number of known species of wood-lizards now stands at 15.
More:
http://www.newsweek.com/three-new-species-dwarf-dragon-discovered-south-america-319875?piano_t=1
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