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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=lizards&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/lizards/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:07:10 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Lizards</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/lizards/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Can Singapore rewild its lost reptiles?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-singapore-rewild-its-lost-reptiles/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-singapore-rewild-its-lost-reptiles/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Mar 2026 02:06:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/04171924/Gimlett-s-reed-snake-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315032</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Green, Herps, Lizards, Reintroductions, Reptiles, Restoration, Rewilding, Snakes, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the older quarters of Singapore, fragments of forest persist like memories that refuse to fade. Within them live creatures that few residents ever see, and some that no longer exist there at all. The disappearance of species on an island is not always dramatic. Often it happens quietly, in decades of thinning habitat and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the older quarters of Singapore, fragments of forest persist like memories that refuse to fade. Within them live creatures that few residents ever see, and some that no longer exist there at all. The disappearance of species on an island is not always dramatic. Often it happens quietly, in decades of thinning habitat and interrupted life cycles, until absence becomes normal. A snake not recorded since 1904 leaves no trace in the soil, only a line in an archive. Selangor mud snake (Raclitia indica), which was rediscovered in Singapore in 2020 after an absence of 106 years. Photo credit: the Law Brothers Singapore’s ecological history is one of compression. Since the 19th century, most primary forest has been cleared for plantations, industry, and housing. Today only a sliver of original forest remains, surrounded by a landscape remade for human needs. Such transformation has exacted a toll on wildlife, especially terrestrial vertebrates. Estimates suggest that roughly a third of species across several groups have disappeared locally over two centuries. Snakes and lizards, however, tell a more complicated story. A recent analysis of Singapore’s squamates, the group that includes snakes and lizards, reconstructs a timeline of loss using historical records and statistical modeling. The pattern resembles two pulses of erosion. The first, in the early 1900s, coincides with the near-total conversion of primary forest. A second, smaller wave arrives late in the 20th century, as remaining secondary forests give way to rapid urbanization. Primary-forest specialists suffered most. Species able to tolerate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-singapore-rewild-its-lost-reptiles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-singapore-rewild-its-lost-reptiles/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315032</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Australia hands record prison sentence to reptile smuggler in trafficking crackdown</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/australia-hands-record-prison-sentence-to-reptile-smuggler-in-trafficking-crackdown/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/australia-hands-record-prison-sentence-to-reptile-smuggler-in-trafficking-crackdown/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Feb 2026 21:16:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gloria Dickie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/25164933/Tiliqua_rugosa_5539-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314795</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Australia, Global, and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Illegal Trade, Law, Law Enforcement, Lizards, Reptiles, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The seizure of dozens of live Western blue-tongued lizards, bearded dragons and spiny-tailed skinks covertly packed into popcorn bags, biscuit tins and women’s handbags have led to the longest prison sentence ever doled out to a wildlife smuggler in Australia. On February 13, a New South Wales District Court sentenced 61-year-old Neil Simpson to eight [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The seizure of dozens of live Western blue-tongued lizards, bearded dragons and spiny-tailed skinks covertly packed into popcorn bags, biscuit tins and women’s handbags have led to the longest prison sentence ever doled out to a wildlife smuggler in Australia. On February 13, a New South Wales District Court sentenced 61-year-old Neil Simpson to eight years in jail for attempting to export 101 Australian reptiles to Hong Kong, Romania, South Korea and Sri Lanka. They were intercepted soon after being mailed, and investigators recovered several hundred more during subsequent searches of Simpson’s home. “This record sentence sends a strong message that profiting from illegally exporting our native wildlife will not be tolerated,” a spokesperson with Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) said. In addition to Western blue-tongued lizards (Tiliqua occipitalis) and multiple bearded dragon and spiny-tailed skink species, Simpson trafficked shingleback lizards (Tiliqua rugosa), Centralian blue-tongued skinks (Tiliqua multifasciata), desert skinks and narrow-banded sand swimmers (Eremiascincus fasciolatus). They were concealed in post packages shipped to international buyers. Each of the confiscated species is classified as a “regulated native specimen.” (Left) This Eastern Pilbara spiny-tailed skink was among hundreds of trafficked reptiles confiscated by Australian authorities that were intercepted en route to Asia and Europe or were seized at the home of Neil Simpson, who masterminded the operation. (Right) Numerous Australian reptiles were trafficked internationally by Simpson and others, according to officials, from at least 2018 to 2023, including this Southern Pygmy spiny-tailed skink. Both photos&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/australia-hands-record-prison-sentence-to-reptile-smuggler-in-trafficking-crackdown/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/australia-hands-record-prison-sentence-to-reptile-smuggler-in-trafficking-crackdown/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314795</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Habitat destruction, illegal trade threaten Sri Lanka’s endangered agamid lizards</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/habitat-destruction-illegal-trade-threaten-sri-lankas-endangered-agamid-lizards/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/habitat-destruction-illegal-trade-threaten-sri-lankas-endangered-agamid-lizards/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jan 2026 07:23:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/31071212/Image-1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313583</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Extinction, forest degradation, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Lizards, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In Sri Lanka, agamid lizard species are growing increasingly vulnerable due to three main factors: shrinking habitats, climate change and being traded as exotic pets. The Indian Ocean island is home to more than 20 species of agamid lizards and shows exceptionally high endemism with more than two-thirds of them found nowhere else [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In Sri Lanka, agamid lizard species are growing increasingly vulnerable due to three main factors: shrinking habitats, climate change and being traded as exotic pets. The Indian Ocean island is home to more than 20 species of agamid lizards and shows exceptionally high endemism with more than two-thirds of them found nowhere else on Earth. Sri Lanka’s wet zone forests and mountain ranges are their home, where they now face threats from extensive habitat loss. Add to this situation the increasing threat of being smuggled out of the island to be traded as exotic species, and the story of Sri Lankan agamids turn bleak. In March 2025, a study highlighted that more than 40% of agamids’ most critical habitats remain unprotected in the island country. The paper, published in Integrative Conservation, indicates that agamid hotspots are primarily concentrated in the island’s wet zone, especially Sinharaja Forest Reserve, the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary and the Dumbara (or Knuckles) Mountain Range. The research states that these unprotected areas are vital for species with tiny ranges, such as Cophotis lizards. Images suggested on Instagram with the search word ‘Cophotis dumbara’. Image via Instagram. Agamid lizards in Sri Lanka are both threatened and evolutionarily distinct, with 19 of 22 species endemic to the island, says the study, which assessed the distribution of 14 threatened agamid lizard species using species distribution modeling (SDM). The generated distribution maps have been used to identify highly diverse target areas for agamid conservation, both within and outside protected&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/habitat-destruction-illegal-trade-threaten-sri-lankas-endangered-agamid-lizards/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/habitat-destruction-illegal-trade-threaten-sri-lankas-endangered-agamid-lizards/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313583</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New gecko species findings highlight threats to Cambodia’s limestone hills</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/new-gecko-species-findings-highlight-threats-to-cambodias-limestone-hills/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/new-gecko-species-findings-highlight-threats-to-cambodias-limestone-hills/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Sep 2025 16:38:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Anton L. Delgado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/04153334/A-Battambang-leaf-toed-gecko-Dixonius-noctivagus.-Image-by-Hun-Seiha-with-Fauna-Flora-Cambodia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305417</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Lizards, New Discovery, Protected Areas, Reptiles, Species Discovery, Surveying, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers have described three new gecko species in northwestern Cambodia’s limestone hills and are eager to conduct further research, but recent border clashes with Thailand have disrupted their studies. Violent clashes this summer, which killed close to 40 people and displaced nearly 300,000 across the two Southeast Asian nations, cut follow-up field surveys short, researchers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers have described three new gecko species in northwestern Cambodia’s limestone hills and are eager to conduct further research, but recent border clashes with Thailand have disrupted their studies. Violent clashes this summer, which killed close to 40 people and displaced nearly 300,000 across the two Southeast Asian nations, cut follow-up field surveys short, researchers told Mongabay. The dispute has indefinitely delayed exploration of the landscape, which may host an abundance of creatures yet to be described by science. Pablo Sinovas, Cambodia country director for Fauna &amp; Flora, an international NGO, was leading the surveys in Battambang province near the Thai border in late July when the fighting erupted. He told Mongabay in August that the decision to pull back was taken as a precaution after Thai fighter jets bombed Cambodia. “In Cambodia, systematic exploration [of karst landscapes] has only just begun,” Sinovas said. “We can expect many more [species] discoveries to be made. These findings highlight the extraordinary diversity that can be hidden in karst ecosystems.” When the clash broke out, the research team pivoted to surveying karst towers near where they had found the Kamping Poi bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus kampingpoiensis), Battambang leaf-toed gecko (Dixonius noctivagus) and Khpoh slender gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus khpoh) in 2024. A Kamping Poi bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus kampingpoiensis). Image by Hun Seiha with Fauna &amp; Flora Cambodia. The discoveries of these species, announced in three studies published in 2025, had thrilled these conservationists and made them eager to double down on karst research. “Think of these&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/new-gecko-species-findings-highlight-threats-to-cambodias-limestone-hills/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/new-gecko-species-findings-highlight-threats-to-cambodias-limestone-hills/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305417</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Suspicions surround international legal trade in Galápagos iguanas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/suspicions-surround-international-legal-trade-in-galapagos-iguanas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/suspicions-surround-international-legal-trade-in-galapagos-iguanas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2025 13:29:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/10131958/iguana-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302191</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Governance, Impact Of Climate Change, Invasive Species, Lizards, Protected Areas, Trade, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2013, when Sandra Altherr, co-founder of the German NGO Pro Wildlife, began looking into the reptile trade in Europe, she wondered why people paid thousands of euros for little-known reptiles whose trade wasn’t regulated by CITES, the international agreement on wildlife trade. On investigating further, she found many of the expensive reptiles sold were [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2013, when Sandra Altherr, co-founder of the German NGO Pro Wildlife, began looking into the reptile trade in Europe, she wondered why people paid thousands of euros for little-known reptiles whose trade wasn’t regulated by CITES, the international agreement on wildlife trade. On investigating further, she found many of the expensive reptiles sold were protected in the countries of their origin. While they were illegal to trade in their range countries, they could still be smuggled out and sold internationally, thanks to regulatory loopholes in EU wildlife trade regulations. What particularly struck Altherr were ads by an individual in Switzerland selling nationally protected reptiles from various parts of the world, including iguanas from the Galápagos, which have been illegal to remove from the archipelago since 1959, with the creation of the Galápagos National Park. “No one at the time in Europe even kept these animals. … It was clear he was special,” Altherr told Mongabay, referring to the individual that caught her eye. “Then we followed him, and collected data on him.” That digital sleuthing, which lasted for more than a decade, has now uncovered a “true crime” story of transnational trade in live Galápagos iguanas sought after by reptile collectors and private zoos worldwide, who are willing to pay top dollar. “Galápagos iguanas are at the top end of black market prices for reptiles,” Altherr said. In a recent study, Altherr and her colleagues — including herpetologists, wildlife trade experts and conservation scientists — present the case of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/suspicions-surround-international-legal-trade-in-galapagos-iguanas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/suspicions-surround-international-legal-trade-in-galapagos-iguanas/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302191</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Critically endangered chameleon discovered outside its known habitat in Madagascar</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/critically-endangered-chameleon-discovered-outside-its-known-habitat-in-madagascar/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/critically-endangered-chameleon-discovered-outside-its-known-habitat-in-madagascar/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2025 07:15:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rivonala Razafison]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/23085903/image1_____1747053039869-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299545</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Madagascar, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Farming, Forests, Governance, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Herps, Lizards, Protected Areas, Reptiles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ANTANANARIVO — At the end of April, a team of researchers scouring a scarred area of spiny forest in southwestern Madagascar came across three individuals of a critically endangered chameleon species. Furcifer belalandaensis had not previously been recorded outside of a tiny, 4-square-kilometer (1.5-square-mile) area near the village of Belalanda after which it’s named, so [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ANTANANARIVO — At the end of April, a team of researchers scouring a scarred area of spiny forest in southwestern Madagascar came across three individuals of a critically endangered chameleon species. Furcifer belalandaensis had not previously been recorded outside of a tiny, 4-square-kilometer (1.5-square-mile) area near the village of Belalanda after which it’s named, so the team was delighted to find two males and a female at a site 5 kilometers (3 miles) away, on the banks of the Fierenana River. The research team, from the University of Mahajanga in the country’s northwest, conducted six months of fieldwork on the island&#8217;s southwest coast to gather information about the species’ distribution. &#8220;We found the three individuals in a relatively degraded ecosystem. There are none in the intact forest,&#8221; Hajaniaina Rasoloarison, a doctoral student in conservation biology, told Mongabay. According to the most recent assessment report, published by the IUCN in 2011, the Belalanda chameleon was known only from a tiny patch of forest on the southwest coast of the island, in badly degraded gallery forest not far from a controversial mining project, Base Toliara. Habitat loss, mainly caused by wildfires and systematic clearing of forest for farming, poses the greatest threat to the species&#8217; survival. &#8220;They might also be threatened by climate change. This species no longer lives in its usual places. According to predictions, global warming will push species to take refuge in niches that suit them,&#8221; Rasoloarison said. Its already small population was under additional pressure from collection for&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/critically-endangered-chameleon-discovered-outside-its-known-habitat-in-madagascar/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/critically-endangered-chameleon-discovered-outside-its-known-habitat-in-madagascar/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299545</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top new species from 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2024 22:47:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/01222118/Image-1-Leopardus-tigrinus-pardinoides-Cuenca-3-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Atlantic Forest, Australia, Cameroon, Central America, Chile, China, Global, India, Indonesia, Latin America, Malaysia, Mekong Basin, Pacific Ocean, Peru, South America, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo Landscape alone, scientists uncovered 27 new-to-science species, including four new mammals, during a two month expedition. Meanwhile, the Greater Mekong region yielded 234 new species, and scientists from the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species globally. The ocean depths continued to surprise, with more than 100 potentially new species found on an unexplored underwater mountain off Chile&#8217;s coast. Two new mammal species were found in India this year, including the world’s smallest otter. Scientists estimate only a small fraction of Earth&#8217;s species have been documented, perhaps 20% at best. Even among mammals, the best-known group of animals, researchers think we’ve only found 80% of species.  Most of these hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles and hedgehogs. Members of Indigenous Awajun communities in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo assist scientists with their research, such as throwing cast nets to capture fish.  68 fish species were collected, including eight that are new to science. Photo courtesy of Trond Larsen/Conservation International. However, while species may be new to Western science, many have been well known to Indigenous peoples and local communities for generations. These communities often maintain sophisticated classification systems and deep ecological&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New ecoregion proposed for Southern Africa’s threatened ‘sky islands’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/new-ecoregion-proposed-for-southern-africas-threatened-sky-islands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/new-ecoregion-proposed-for-southern-africas-threatened-sky-islands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2024 04:09:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/12121217/An-endemic-chameleon_ChristopheBernier.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279738</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Farming, Forests, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Herps, Lizards, New Discovery, Protected Areas, Reptiles, Research, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There is an “inland archipelago” of mountains stretching across southern Malawi and northern Mozambique — a chain of hard granite inselbergs lifted high above the surrounding landscape as it weathered down over millions of years. These “sky islands”, as they’re also known, are topped with high-altitude grasslands and evergreen forests and watered by cool moist [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There is an “inland archipelago” of mountains stretching across southern Malawi and northern Mozambique — a chain of hard granite inselbergs lifted high above the surrounding landscape as it weathered down over millions of years. These “sky islands”, as they’re also known, are topped with high-altitude grasslands and evergreen forests and watered by cool moist winds from the Indian Ocean to the east. A group of researchers is now making the case to declare a new &#8220;ecoregion&#8221; that will strengthen protection for these inselbergs, whose forest patches, thought once to have been linked to those in Central Africa, still host unique communities of animals and plants. Researcher Julian Bayliss discovered one new species of snake by stepping on it. Both the snake, a 45-centimeter-long (1.5 foot-long) bush viper, and Bayliss, a biodiversity and protected area management specialist, were unharmed, and the snake was collected and later described as new to science and given the name Mabu bush viper (Atheris mabuensis) in honor of the mountain where he found it. The incident was one of Bayliss’ many highlights over 20 years spent documenting the rich diversity of plants and animals of this region. He and 25 colleagues he has worked alongside are now proposing Mabu and the other 30 or so mountains in this transboundary biological treasure be declared a brand new ecoregion: —the South East Africa Mountain Archipelago (SEAMA) — to support landscape-wide conservation initiatives. “Instead of single-site [conservation] initiatives you can now have ecoregion-wide conservation initiatives targeting many of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/new-ecoregion-proposed-for-southern-africas-threatened-sky-islands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/new-ecoregion-proposed-for-southern-africas-threatened-sky-islands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279738</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top species discoveries from 2023</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/photos-top-species-discoveries-from-2023/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/photos-top-species-discoveries-from-2023/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Dec 2023 15:36:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/27150956/chameleon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=277110</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Australia, Brunei, Ecuador, Global, India, Japan, Madagascar, Pacific Ocean, Panama, Peru, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists named hundreds of new to science species this year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squids, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons. These newly uncovered creatures give us just a glimpse into the immense biodiversity yet to be found across the planet. “I think most people believe that we know most species [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists named hundreds of new to science species this year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squids, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons. These newly uncovered creatures give us just a glimpse into the immense biodiversity yet to be found across the planet. “I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case scenario, we know 20% of Earth’s species,” Mario Moura, a professor at the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil, told Mongabay in a March 2021 interview. Experts estimate only 10-20% of Earth&#8217;s species have been documented by Western science. This year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 153 new plant, animal and fungi species. Since 2020 alone, researchers have classified 100,000 new plant and fungus species. However, at this pace, researchers say documenting all life could take centuries, and many species may go extinct before they’re even named. More than a million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, suggests the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as vulnerable or critically endangered with extinction as soon as they’re found. “There is something immensely unethical and troubling about humans driving species extinct without ever even having appreciated their existence and given them consideration,” Walter Jetz, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University, told Mongabay, It’s important to note that although a species may be newly described by science, Indigenous people&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/photos-top-species-discoveries-from-2023/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/photos-top-species-discoveries-from-2023/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-277110</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>For Vietnam’s rare reptiles, lack of captive populations may spell doom</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/for-vietnams-rare-reptiles-lack-of-captive-populations-may-spell-doom/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/for-vietnams-rare-reptiles-lack-of-captive-populations-may-spell-doom/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Sep 2023 06:42:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/09/21062217/Endangered-psychedelic-rock-gecko-Cnemaspis-psychedelica-by-Thomas-Ziegler-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273490</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Captive Breeding, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Ex-situ Conservation, Extinction, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Habitat Loss, Herps, Karst, Lizards, Pet Trade, Reintroductions, Reptiles, Snakes, Traditional Medicine, Turtles And Tortoises, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Vietnam is the meeting point of two incredibly biodiverse ecoregions, where the tropical ecosystems of Southeast Asia merge seamlessly with the temperate biomes of mainland Asia. Across a terrain of mountain ranges, vast plains and limestone cliffs and caves, animals and plants have evolved into a rich diversity of forms. But more needs to be [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Vietnam is the meeting point of two incredibly biodiverse ecoregions, where the tropical ecosystems of Southeast Asia merge seamlessly with the temperate biomes of mainland Asia. Across a terrain of mountain ranges, vast plains and limestone cliffs and caves, animals and plants have evolved into a rich diversity of forms. But more needs to be done to protect key species groups, such as reptiles, from extinction, according to a new study. Researchers from Vietnam and Germany examining the status, threats and conservation priorities of Vietnam&#8217;s impressive total of 484 known reptile species found that many are excruciatingly rare and understudied and that most face serious threats from habitat loss and overharvesting for traditional medicine, the pet trade and human consumption. In their findings, published in Nature Conservation, the team provide a baseline assessment of the health of Vietnam’s reptiles, identifying a list of the country’s top 50 most threatened reptiles to guide future research and conservation efforts. They also earmark the country’s central Annamite Mountains range as the most important hotspot of reptile diversity in the country, home to 32 species found nowhere else on Earth. “Vietnam belongs to the global biodiversity hotspots, with a high number of species being discovered every year,” study co-author Thomas Ziegler, coordinator of biodiversity and nature conservation projects for Vietnam and Laos at Cologne Zoological Garden in Germany, told Mongabay in an email. “Our work group has described almost 90 new species of reptiles from Vietnam in the past two decades alone.” Mountainous, remote&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/for-vietnams-rare-reptiles-lack-of-captive-populations-may-spell-doom/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/for-vietnams-rare-reptiles-lack-of-captive-populations-may-spell-doom/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-273490</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Newly described gecko from Madagascar a master of disguise</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/newly-described-gecko-from-madagascar-a-master-of-disguise/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/newly-described-gecko-from-madagascar-a-master-of-disguise/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Sep 2023 12:50:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/09/14124015/Low-Res_Uroplatus-garamaso_Montagne-des-Francais_2007_Jorn-Kohler_2.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273342</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation in Madagascar]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Lizards, New Discovery, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Research, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The leaf-tailed geckos of the genus Uroplatus aren&#8217;t easy to find. In the jungles of their native Madagascar, this is certainly true, owing to their remarkable ability to meld into their surroundings. But scientists are still uncovering species from the island nation with astonishing regularity by disentangling species complexes using DNA analysis. In 1989, only [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The leaf-tailed geckos of the genus Uroplatus aren&#8217;t easy to find. In the jungles of their native Madagascar, this is certainly true, owing to their remarkable ability to meld into their surroundings. But scientists are still uncovering species from the island nation with astonishing regularity by disentangling species complexes using DNA analysis. In 1989, only six of these leaf-tailed geckos were known to science from Madagascar. Today, that number is 22. The latest to appear on the tree of life is Uroplatus garamaso. These cryptic creatures can&#8217;t always be differentiated on sight from their close cousin, U. henkeli.  “The large genetic divergence in both mitochondrial and nuclear markers was the most important trait to distinguish both species,” said Frank Glaw, a herpetologist who led the team from the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, or ZSM, in Germany. They documented their find in a new paper in the journal Salamandra. U. garamaso is an expert camouflager. Drag the slider to the left to reveal the gecko on the branch. Images courtesy of Mark D. Scherz/Natural History Museum of Denmark.. More than 85% of Madagascar’s wildlife is unique to the island nation, and more endemic species are described every year. The Gekkota suborder of lizards, which already boasts more than 80 species from Madagascar, is one of the most prolific. In 2022, one study alone described eight species new to science. The reptiles come in all sizes in Madagascar. U. garamaso, with a length of 8.3-13.9 centimeters (3.3-5.5 inches), is one of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/newly-described-gecko-from-madagascar-a-master-of-disguise/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/newly-described-gecko-from-madagascar-a-master-of-disguise/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-273342</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s BP Highway threatens endemic, critically endangered lizard</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/nepals-bp-highway-threatens-endemic-critically-endangered-lizard/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/nepals-bp-highway-threatens-endemic-critically-endangered-lizard/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2023 10:11:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/28100256/Dark-sitana-Photo-by-Santosh-Bhattarai-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271514</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation Potential]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Forest, India, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cities, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Development, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Fires, Forests, Funding, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Herps, Infrastructure, Lizards, Reptiles, Roads, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — On a hot and humid day in Bardibas, a town in the lowlands of Nepal, the sun beats down on the dusty roads where vans, cars and motorcycles zoom by, leaving behind a trail of black smoke. People traveling to the plains from the capital Kathmandu stop by to grab lunch as the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — On a hot and humid day in Bardibas, a town in the lowlands of Nepal, the sun beats down on the dusty roads where vans, cars and motorcycles zoom by, leaving behind a trail of black smoke. People traveling to the plains from the capital Kathmandu stop by to grab lunch as the smell of fish, spices and petrol exhaust fill the air. In the last remaining green patches of this once-sleepy town, which sprang to life after the Japanese contractors handed over the highway to the government of Nepal in July 2015, a small creature hides itself from all the hullabaloo, trying not to get trampled. The critically endangered dark sitana (Sitana fusca), a rare lizard that hasn’t been reported anywhere else in the world, faces a host of challenges for its survival, most of them triggered by the highway development. “The main threat to its existence is the loss of its habitat, which has been fragmented and degraded by the construction of the BP Highway,” says researcher Santosh Bhattarai, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in herpetology. The highway, which took more than two decades to complete, is the shortest route connecting Kathmandu to the country’s eastern Terai. “It has triggered unplanned urban development, which has reduced natural vegetation and habitats of sitanas,” he added. The critically endangered dark sitana (Sitana fusca), a rare lizard that hasn’t been reported anywhere else in the world, faces a host of challenges for its survival, most of them triggered by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/nepals-bp-highway-threatens-endemic-critically-endangered-lizard/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/nepals-bp-highway-threatens-endemic-critically-endangered-lizard/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-271514</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Six newly described chameleon species reflect Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains’ fragility and richness</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/six-newly-described-chameleon-species-reflect-tanzanias-eastern-arc-mountains-fragility-and-richness/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/six-newly-described-chameleon-species-reflect-tanzanias-eastern-arc-mountains-fragility-and-richness/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Mar 2023 11:27:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/02/27101722/new-chameleon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265949</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Extinction, Farming, Forests, Governance, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Herps, Lizards, Mongabay Data Studio, New Discovery, Protected Areas, Reptiles, Research, Species Discovery, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Michele Menegon and a team of local and international scientists have just described six new species of thumb-sized chameleon in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains. The forest-capped mountains form an inland archipelago, stretching 900 kilometers (560 miles) from the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika to the Taita Hills in southeastern Kenya. Much like the 13 islands [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Michele Menegon and a team of local and international scientists have just described six new species of thumb-sized chameleon in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains. The forest-capped mountains form an inland archipelago, stretching 900 kilometers (560 miles) from the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika to the Taita Hills in southeastern Kenya. Much like the 13 islands of that other famous archipelago, the Galapagos, the Eastern Arc&#8217;s 13 isolated mountain blocks harbor startling biodiversity. The latest discovery brings to 26 the total number of Rhampholeon, or pygmy chameleons, described to date. More than half of them live in the Eastern Arc Mountains, whose mountain blocks resemble biological islands that have become the sites of species radiation for the tiny reptiles, just as the Galapagos Islands did for Charles Darwin’s finches. But these forests are threatened by farmers and herders who clear them to grow crops and raise livestock. Most of the six newly described chameleons are already at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, according to researchers. Menegon, an ecologist, conservationist and researcher, began working in the Eastern Arc Mountains 30 years ago. He would emerge after a day spent in the forest with more unknown species on his list than known ones. Most of the pygmy chameleons are endemic, or unique, to individual mountain blocks. The mountain blocks of the Eastern Arc Mountains resemble biological islands that have become the sites of species radiation for the tiny reptiles. Image courtesy of Michele Menegon. Scientists have just described six new species of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/six-newly-described-chameleon-species-reflect-tanzanias-eastern-arc-mountains-fragility-and-richness/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-265949</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rumors and misconceptions threaten tokay geckos in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/rumors-and-misconceptions-threaten-tokay-geckos-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/rumors-and-misconceptions-threaten-tokay-geckos-in-bangladesh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jan 2023 10:09:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rafiqul Islam]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/01/10075600/gekko-gecko-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264472</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Lizards, Poaching, Rainforests, Reptiles, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DHAKA – In the hopes of becoming overnight millionaires, five wildlife traffickers tried to sell a tokay gecko (Gekko gecko), locally known as takkhak, in Bangladesh’s border district of Panchagarh. Posing as buyers, on Nov. 18 police apprehended the traffickers, who were asking for 30 million taka (about US$ 300,000). The irony is that the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DHAKA – In the hopes of becoming overnight millionaires, five wildlife traffickers tried to sell a tokay gecko (Gekko gecko), locally known as takkhak, in Bangladesh’s border district of Panchagarh. Posing as buyers, on Nov. 18 police apprehended the traffickers, who were asking for 30 million taka (about US$ 300,000). The irony is that the traffickers were unlikely to get anywhere near their asking price for the gecko. And yet, misconceptions about the medicinal benefits of geckos are so widespread that these common nocturnal lizards are often hunted in forests around Bangladesh. The tokay gecko is found in northeastern India, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh; throughout Southeast Asia, including Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia; and toward western New Guinea. The lizard’s native habitat is on trees and cliffs of the rainforest. It adapts to rural human habitats as well, roaming walls and ceilings at night in search of insect prey. As insects are attracted to lights, the gecko often follows its prey to villages. Though tokay geckos are widespread and ecologically flexible, rampant trade of the species has led to localized population declines in parts of Bangladesh, China, Indonesia and Thailand. In Bangladesh, gecko populations are estimated to have declined by 50% as a result of collection for the novel medicinal claims, the study said. Although the tokay gecko&#8217;s native habitat is on trees and cliffs of rainforests, it adapts to rural human habitats as well, roaming walls and ceilings at night in search of insect prey. Image by Sabit&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/rumors-and-misconceptions-threaten-tokay-geckos-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/rumors-and-misconceptions-threaten-tokay-geckos-in-bangladesh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264472</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top 15 species discoveries from 2022 (Photos)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2022-photos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2022-photos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2022 17:52:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/03/11184718/FISHCirrhilabrus-finifenmaa_4%C2%A9-Yi-Kai-Tea-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264198</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Cameroon, Central America, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Global, Guinea, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latin America, Madagascar, Maldives, Pacific Ocean, Panama, Peru, South America, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Owls, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Shipping, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A resplendent rainbow fish, a frog that looks like chocolate, a Thai tarantula,  an anemone that rides on a back of a hermit crab, and the world&#8217;s largest waterlily are among the new species named by science in 2022. In this well-trodden world, finding a new species is a glimpse of the uncharted riches of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A resplendent rainbow fish, a frog that looks like chocolate, a Thai tarantula,  an anemone that rides on a back of a hermit crab, and the world&#8217;s largest waterlily are among the new species named by science in 2022. In this well-trodden world, finding a new species is a glimpse of the uncharted riches of biodiversity still hidden around the globe. Scientists estimate that only 10% of all the species on the planet have been described. Even among the most well-known group of animals, mammals, scientists think we have only found 80% of species. Most of these hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles, and hedgehogs. “Based on our analysis, a conservative estimate would be that there are hundreds of species of mammals worldwide that have yet to be identified,” Bryan Carstens, a professor at The Ohio State University, told Mongabay. This year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences named 146 new species, including “44 lizards, 30 ants, 14 sea slugs, 14 flowering plants, 13 sea stars, seven fishes, four beetles, four sharks, three moths, three worms, two scorpions, two spiders, two lichens, one toad, one clam, one aphid, and one sea biscuit.” Around 2,000 new species of plants and fungi are found each year, according to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew). These are potential sources of food, medicines, and other solutions. Unfortunately, many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction. “There is something immensely unethical and troubling&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2022-photos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2022-photos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264198</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>An elusive lizard thought to live only in India makes an appearance in Nepal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-elusive-lizard-thought-to-live-only-in-india-makes-an-appearance-in-nepal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-elusive-lizard-thought-to-live-only-in-india-makes-an-appearance-in-nepal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2022 05:48:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/17052709/Full-body-photo-of-Takydromus-sikkimensis-from-Miklajung-Morang-Nepal-Photo-by-Bivek-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259302</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Forest, India, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Biodiversity, Conservation, Funding, Herps, Lizards, New Discovery, Reptiles, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — When zoologist Bivek Gautam and members of his team were on an expedition to look for the Himalayan salamander (Tylototriton himalayanus) in 2020 in the forests of eastern Nepal, they came across another creature entirely: a lizard different in appearance from others they had seen before. “We only managed to get a glimpse [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — When zoologist Bivek Gautam and members of his team were on an expedition to look for the Himalayan salamander (Tylototriton himalayanus) in 2020 in the forests of eastern Nepal, they came across another creature entirely: a lizard different in appearance from others they had seen before. “We only managed to get a glimpse of it,” Gautam told Mongabay, adding he was left wondering about the identity of the lizard. “A year later, when we returned, we managed to get a much closer look at the lizard.” This time the researchers managed to capture, observe and take measurements of the lizard similar to the one they had spotted a year before. In a recently published study, they concluded that what they had was a specimen of an elusive lizard species, Takydromus sikkimensis, previously thought to be found only in the state of Sikkim in neighboring India (hence the specific name sikkimensis). “After observing the scales and its four pairs of femoral pores, 12 rows of ventral scales, and a tail more than 3.6 times longer than snout-vent length, we came to a conclusion that it was the Sikkim grass lizard,” Gautam said. “After identifying the species, our excitement increased when we learnt about its history,” he added. There’s so little known about the species that researchers have at times even doubted that it exists. The Sikkim grass lizard was first described in 1888 by German-British zoologist Albert Günther on the basis of a description of grass lizards from Sikkim&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-elusive-lizard-thought-to-live-only-in-india-makes-an-appearance-in-nepal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-elusive-lizard-thought-to-live-only-in-india-makes-an-appearance-in-nepal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-259302</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘No’ to corporate-driven tourism development in Komodo National Park (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/no-to-corporate-driven-tourism-development-in-komodo-national-park-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/no-to-corporate-driven-tourism-development-in-komodo-national-park-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Apr 2022 14:56:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Venansius Haryanto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/19123248/Komodo-dragon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=254890</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Land Use Change, Lizards, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tourism, Tropical Forests, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In early 2022, the public in Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Indonesia’s popular Komodo National Park, was both pleased and dissatisfied with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s decision to evaluate permits belonging to two private companies planning to invest in the park. The companies, PT Sagara Komodo Lestari (SKL) and PT Komodo Wildlife [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In early 2022, the public in Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Indonesia’s popular Komodo National Park, was both pleased and dissatisfied with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s decision to evaluate permits belonging to two private companies planning to invest in the park. The companies, PT Sagara Komodo Lestari (SKL) and PT Komodo Wildlife Ecotourism (KWE), had obtained permits to build tourism business facilities inside the park, a unique conservation area home to the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Despite the announcement, however, there is no guarantee the government will actually revoke these licenses. These corporate land concessions are a long-standing concern for the public in Labuan Bajo and elsewhere. In contrast to the government’s claim that these programs will boost tourism development in and around the island of Flores, where Labuan Bajo is located, various civil society elements have rejected plans to build exclusive resorts inside the park for fear it will result in ecological and social crises. A coalition of civil society groups even sent a letter to UNESCO in 2020 while continuing to consolidate themselves through the wave of public protest in the past three years. In the letter, the public asked UNESCO, which recognizes Komodo National Park as a World Heritage Site, to urge the Indonesian government to review the tourism master plan for the park and to revoke the companies’ concessions. Luxury resorts in the land of the Komodo The companies’ entry into the national park was preceded by the Indonesian&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/no-to-corporate-driven-tourism-development-in-komodo-national-park-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/no-to-corporate-driven-tourism-development-in-komodo-national-park-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-254890</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top 15 species discoveries from 2021 (Photos)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Dec 2021 18:29:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/12/21182636/Screen-Shot-2021-12-21-at-12.26.13-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=250851</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Ecuador, Global, Guiana Shield, India, Latin America, South America, Venezuela, West Africa, and Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Ants, Bats, Biodiversity, Birding, Botany, Carnivores, Cetaceans, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Mammals, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Orchids, Owls, Plants, Plastic, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Shipping, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With humans sending probes to Mars and the sun, one might think we’ve already explored the full extent of our own planet. But scientists say we’ve only begun to find and describe the riches here on Earth. “I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case scenario, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With humans sending probes to Mars and the sun, one might think we’ve already explored the full extent of our own planet. But scientists say we’ve only begun to find and describe the riches here on Earth. “I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case scenario, we know 20% of Earth’s species,” Mario Moura, a professor at the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil, told Mongabay in a March 2021 interview.  Moura is the co-creator of a study that maps out places in the world likely to hold the highest number of species unknown to science. As it turns out, there are a lot. This year, Mongabay reported on newly described species from nearly every continent, including a fuzzy orange bat from West Africa, tiny screech owls from Brazil, an acrobatic North American skunk, a snake from the Himalayas (found on Instagram), a new whale species in the Gulf of Mexico, an Ecuadoran ant whose name broke the gender binary, and an Australian “killer tobacco.” Map showing the portion of undiscovered species worldwide. Image by Mario R. Moura. (Moura and Jetz 2021) “Every year, as scientists explore the world’s ecosystems, search herbaria and fungaria, sequence organisms’ DNA and, increasingly, browse social media, they come across species of plants and fungi that have not been scientifically described,” says the “State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2020” report, released by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. However, though a species may be new&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2021-photos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-250851</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Color-changing robo-chameleon showcases promising camouflage tech</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/color-changing-robo-chameleon-showcases-promising-camouflage-tech/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/color-changing-robo-chameleon-showcases-promising-camouflage-tech/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Aug 2021 10:09:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/08/12094842/Image-two-768x396.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=245872</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biomimicry, Lizards, Reptiles, Research, Technology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It doesn’t sport swivelly eyes or an absurdly long tongue, but a new robot does boast of a chameleon’s most eye-catching trait: being able to change colors on demand. With its clunky, segmented body, the robo-chameleon unveiled by South Korean researchers could easily be mistaken for a children&#8217;s toy or a real chameleon in body [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It doesn’t sport swivelly eyes or an absurdly long tongue, but a new robot does boast of a chameleon’s most eye-catching trait: being able to change colors on demand. With its clunky, segmented body, the robo-chameleon unveiled by South Korean researchers could easily be mistaken for a children&#8217;s toy or a real chameleon in body armor. It’s neither. It is, in fact, an embodiment of cutting-edge camouflage technology. Or at least, cutting-edge for muggles, or non-magical humans. The artificial “skin” could very well be a precursor to invisibility cloaks à la Harry Potter. Hyeonseok Kim, a co-author of the new paper published in Nature Communications, said he was struck by the chameleons he had seen at zoos, especially their ability to don different colors. He decided to model the robot on these Old World lizards. There are currently more than 200 known species of chameleons, most of which are native to Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot in the Indian Ocean. They come in all sizes, from the chunky Parson’s chameleon (Calumma parsonii) that can grow to 69 centimeters (27 inches), to the smallest, just shy of 1.4 cm (0.55 in). They all move with a halting grace, their forked feet clutching branches, freewheeling eyeballs surveying their nook. A Parson&#8217;s chameleon. Image by Rhett A. Butler. To create a model like this, the researchers had to answer two fundamental problems: what will be the input, and what will be the output? For the first, the robo-chameleon collects information about its surroundings through&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/color-changing-robo-chameleon-showcases-promising-camouflage-tech/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/color-changing-robo-chameleon-showcases-promising-camouflage-tech/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-245872</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Hold the scuba: These lizards can breathe underwater</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/hold-the-scuba-these-lizards-can-breathe-underwater/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/hold-the-scuba-these-lizards-can-breathe-underwater/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2021 14:12:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/28114242/Anolis-aquaticus-from-Costa-Rica-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=243131</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Freshwater, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Lizards, New Discovery, Species, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Luke Mahler didn’t exactly set out to study lizards that could breathe underwater. But when he and fellow scientist Rich Glor were out on a research expedition in Haiti in 2009, they noticed some peculiar behavior in some critically endangered Eugene’s anoles (Anolis eugenegrahami) released into a shallow stream. It appeared, much to their disbelief, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Luke Mahler didn’t exactly set out to study lizards that could breathe underwater. But when he and fellow scientist Rich Glor were out on a research expedition in Haiti in 2009, they noticed some peculiar behavior in some critically endangered Eugene’s anoles (Anolis eugenegrahami) released into a shallow stream. It appeared, much to their disbelief, that they were breathing underwater. “We were very surprised to find rebreathing in anoles,” Mahler, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Toronto, told Mongabay in an email. “An underwater respiratory behavior like this had never previously been recorded in vertebrates.” This initial observation kick-started a research project that spanned 12 years, involved 15 international scientists, and required research in several countries, including Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador. The project culminated in a recent paper published in Current Biology that revealed that several semi-aquatic anole species have the uncanny ability to breathe underwater — or rebreathe — for up to 18 minutes. “We were &#8230; surprised to find it in so many semi-aquatic anole species, many of which are not particularly close relatives,” lead author Christopher Boccia, who recently completed his Master&#8217;s degree at the University of Toronto, told Mongabay in an email. “Within the genus Anolis, semi-aquatic habitat specialization has evolved several times independently, and what’s neat is that each time this has happened, specialized underwater ‘rebreathing’ has also evolved.” Anolis eugenegrahami from Haiti is another anole species that can breathe underwater. Image by Luke Mahler. So how does it work? The researchers observed&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/hold-the-scuba-these-lizards-can-breathe-underwater/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/hold-the-scuba-these-lizards-can-breathe-underwater/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-243131</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reptile traffickers trawl scientific literature, target newly described species</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/reptile-traffickers-trawl-scientific-literature-target-newly-described-species/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/reptile-traffickers-trawl-scientific-literature-target-newly-described-species/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 May 2021 20:09:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pavel Toropov]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/05/26192205/1-banner-image-768x447.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=243039</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[China, European Union, Germany, Global, Iran, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Habitat Loss, Herps, Hunting, Illegal Trade, Lizards, Mass Extinction, Over-hunting, Overconsumption, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Turtles, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Within months of newly discovered species of snakes, geckos and turtles being described (along with their locations) by scientists, traders find and harvest the animals for sale on the Internet.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“What happens when a new species of gecko is discovered? Two Germans grab their suitcases and get on a plane,” says Sandra Altherr, telling an in-house joke. Altherr is a co-founder of Pro Wildlife, a conservation NGO in Germany. In the joke, the anonymous men with suitcases are reptile traders. Their objective is to get hold of the new species as quickly as possible and sell it to collectors. A single lizard, turtle or snake can fetch hundreds, even thousands of dollars. How do the traders know where to go? And why are Germans the butt of the joke? “Traders follow scientific literature, scanning it systematically, looking for new species,” says Altherr. A long-standing scientific convention helps their search: journals not only require a description of each new species found, but typically include the location where it was discovered. In addition, few know that Germany is a superpower in the reptile trade. “We have had the tradition of reptile keeping since the start of the nineteenth century,” explains Altherr. “The problem became huge over the last 2 or 3 decades. With technology and globalization, nature became available and accessible, and the Internet helps traders to get organized, to get in touch.” Mitchell&#8217;s rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchelii) from the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico on sale at Terraristika, the world’s largest reptile fair held in Hamm, Germany. An incredible variety of reptile species is on sale at Terraristika where reptile collectors often come to pick up orders they made online. Image courtesy&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/reptile-traffickers-trawl-scientific-literature-target-newly-described-species/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/reptile-traffickers-trawl-scientific-literature-target-newly-described-species/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-243039</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Newly described chameleon from Madagascar may be world’s smallest reptile</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/newly-described-chameleon-from-madagascar-may-be-worlds-smallest-reptile/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/newly-described-chameleon-from-madagascar-may-be-worlds-smallest-reptile/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Feb 2021 13:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/02/03115550/Brookesia_nana_male_photo_Frank_Glaw-_MAD2814-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=239222</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation in Madagascar]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Endangered Species, Islands, Lizards, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Frank Glaw is no stranger to discovery. The German herpetologist has helped describe scores of new species from Madagascar, but the latest one is special: Brookesia nana is arguably the world&#8217;s tiniest chameleon and possibly the smallest reptile on Earth. Measuring just shy of 14 millimeters (0.55 inches), B. nana can perch cozily on an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Frank Glaw is no stranger to discovery. The German herpetologist has helped describe scores of new species from Madagascar, but the latest one is special: Brookesia nana is arguably the world&#8217;s tiniest chameleon and possibly the smallest reptile on Earth. A male Brookesia nana. Image courtesy of Frank Glaw. Measuring just shy of 14 millimeters (0.55 inches), B. nana can perch cozily on an aspirin tablet. Like many Lilliputian chameleons, it has catchy swivelly eyes and a sizeable hemipenis. Two specimens, a male and female, were collected in 2012 by Angeluc Razafimanantsoa, who works as a tourist guide at Montagne d&#8217;Ambre National Park in northern Madagascar and assists scientific expeditions. The female was distinctly bigger at 19 mm (0.75 in), which scientists believe is one reason why the males feature an outsized reproductive organ; it&#8217;s a better fit. A female Brookesia nana. Image courtesy of Frank Glaw. For nine years, Brookesia micra, a cousin of B. nana described in 2012, clung to the title of tiniest chameleon. B. nana is smaller than B. micra in body size, measured from snout to cloacal opening at the base of the tail. But it sports a longer tail. Differences in how size is determined make it complicated to definitively claim that a species is the planet&#8217;s littlest. A branch of Brookesia chameleons exhibits extreme miniaturization, leaving scientists scouring dictionaries for synonyms for small. There is already a Brookesia minima, so the researchers settled on nana, derived from the Latin word for dwarf. Glaw and his colleagues published their findings in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/newly-described-chameleon-from-madagascar-may-be-worlds-smallest-reptile/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/newly-described-chameleon-from-madagascar-may-be-worlds-smallest-reptile/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-239222</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Race against time’: Saving the snakes and lizards of Brazil’s Cerrado</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/race-against-time-saving-the-snakes-and-lizards-of-brazils-cerrado/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/race-against-time-saving-the-snakes-and-lizards-of-brazils-cerrado/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Feb 2021 18:12:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/02/02172229/4-BANNER-IMAGE-UNDESCRIBED-Apostolepis-768x456.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=239185</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Cerrado]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Cerrado, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Animals, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Cattle, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecology, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Farming, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Herps, Lizards, Mass Extinction, Plantations, Ranching, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Science, Snakes, Solutions, Soy, Species Discovery, Tropical Deforestation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The native vegetation of Brazil’s vast savanna is rapidly being replaced by plantations and pastures. At risk along with the biome’s grasslands are hundreds of endemic, uniquely adapted reptile species. ]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Stenocercus canastra, a newly discovered lizard species found in Serra da Canastra National Park by Cristiano Nogueira. Image by Cristiano Nogueira. When Cristiano Nogueira first spied the creature hiding in an underground burrow, he thought he had found a “lost species.” Stenocercus tricristatus, a diminutive, distinctively-spotted, prehistoric-looking lizard, hadn’t been seen for 175 years, and was known to science by just a single specimen kept in a drawer at the Paris Museum of Natural History. An infamous Danish expat collector, M. Claussen, had collected it somewhere in central Brazil back then, but no one knew exactly where. Nogueira, a herpetologist and biogeographer, had traveled to Serra da Canastra National Park in Brazil’s southeastern Cerrado savanna just after a fire burned through: it’s the best time to find animals that are normally concealed by grasses in this rocky, highlands landscape. Upon closer study back in the lab, he and his colleagues determined the animal’s true identity. “It wasn’t the lost species,” Nogueira said. “This beautiful spiny lizard, with two horns on top of its head, was a new species.” That was in 2019. Remarkably, two decades into the 21st century, scientists are still discovering previously unknown species across central Brazil’s Cerrado biome. In 2000, when Nogueira first proposed field research there as a graduate student, his professors told him he wouldn’t find much. “That was a vision based on poor data and poor sampling,” he said. “It was considered a wasteland.” Ancient plateau and savanna in the western portion of Bahia state. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/race-against-time-saving-the-snakes-and-lizards-of-brazils-cerrado/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/race-against-time-saving-the-snakes-and-lizards-of-brazils-cerrado/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-239185</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Land grab, logging, mining threaten biodiversity haven of Woodlark Island</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/land-grab-logging-mining-threaten-biodiversity-haven-of-woodlark-island/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/land-grab-logging-mining-threaten-biodiversity-haven-of-woodlark-island/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Oct 2020 16:57:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gianluca Cerullo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/01164814/Woodlark-mine-infrastructure-geopacific-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=235415</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Oceania and Papua New Guinea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, FPIC, Frogs, Gold Mining, Green, Habitat Loss, Herps, Indigenous Peoples, Lizards, Mammals, Marsupials, Mining, Old Growth Forests, Pollution, Primary Forests, Rainforests, Reptiles, Tropical Forests, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A unique rainforest island lying 270 kilometers (168 miles) off Papua New Guinea is once again at the center of a tug-of-war between multiple extractive industries vying for its rich natural resources. Woodlark Island is home to dozens of species found nowhere else on Earth, but faces numerous overlapping threats from gold mining expansion and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A unique rainforest island lying 270 kilometers (168 miles) off Papua New Guinea is once again at the center of a tug-of-war between multiple extractive industries vying for its rich natural resources. Woodlark Island is home to dozens of species found nowhere else on Earth, but faces numerous overlapping threats from gold mining expansion and looming potential agricultural and logging projects. After a hard-won battle to regain customary land ownership over their New York City-sized island, Woodlark islanders recently faced a major land rights setback. A court has effectively revoked the islanders’ customary ownership over some 70% of Woodlark, returning the mostly forested area as a lease to Carter Holdings Limited. The company, formerly known as Vitroplant Limited, was the driving force behind a thwarted attempt to establish a large-scale biofuel project on Woodlark in 2007. Meanwhile, Woodlark still faces ambiguous threats from Malaysian-owned logging company Kulawood Limited, which has submitted a forest clearance application to the Papua New Guinean Forest Authority. Woodlark Island, also called Muyua Island, lies about 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of the Papua New Guinea mainland. The forest clearance application covers 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) — around 40% of the island’s forest — but its status is unclear. This is despite an ongoing petition signed by more than 184,000 people calling on the Forest Authority to halt the deforestation. A similar petition launched earlier this year garnered some 228,000 signatures. An Australian mining company has also started expanding infrastructure on Woodlark. Geopacific Resources Limited, however,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/land-grab-logging-mining-threaten-biodiversity-haven-of-woodlark-island/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/land-grab-logging-mining-threaten-biodiversity-haven-of-woodlark-island/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-235415</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After a century of mistaken identity, a Balinese gecko gets its own name</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/after-a-century-of-mistaken-identity-a-balinese-gecko-gets-its-own-name/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/after-a-century-of-mistaken-identity-a-balinese-gecko-gets-its-own-name/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jun 2020 10:56:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fransisca N. TirtaningtyasRahmadi Rahmad]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Basten Gokkon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/06/04055105/Cicak-jatnai-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=230992</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bali, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Lizards, National Parks, Parks, Protected Areas, Reptiles, Research, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BOGOR, Indonesia — For nearly a century it was thought to be a separate population of a gecko species found in Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island. Now, the bent-toed gecko found in western Bali, nearly a thousand miles to the southwest, has been declared its own, distinct species. The description of Cyrtodactylus jatnai is based on a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BOGOR, Indonesia — For nearly a century it was thought to be a separate population of a gecko species found in Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island. Now, the bent-toed gecko found in western Bali, nearly a thousand miles to the southwest, has been declared its own, distinct species. The description of Cyrtodactylus jatnai is based on a study of its distinctive body features and family tree, and presented in a paper published in May in the journal TAPROBANICA. “This bent-toed gecko from Bali is indeed special because for a century it was known as Cyrtodactylus fumosus,” said study co-author Awal Riyanto, a herpetologist at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). The new name pays homage to veteran Indonesian conservationist and ecologist Jatna Supriatna, who was born in Bali and has been called “the conservation warrior of Indonesia” by Conservation International. Cyrtodactylus jatnai. Image courtesy of Awal Riyanto. While C. jatnai most closely resembles C. fumosus, it also bears a strong likeness to other geckos in the genus found throughout the region, including Malaysia’s C. seribuatensis and C. batucolus, and Australia’s C. kimberleyensis and C. sadleiri. Within Indonesia, it also has a close resemblance to C. darmandvillei from the Flores and Kalao islands, and C. petani in Java. There are more than 250 known species of Cyrtodactylus, making it the biggest genus of geckos. The authors of the new paper — a team representing LIPI, the University of Indonesia, the Bogor Zoology Museum, and La Sierra University in California — write that the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/after-a-century-of-mistaken-identity-a-balinese-gecko-gets-its-own-name/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/after-a-century-of-mistaken-identity-a-balinese-gecko-gets-its-own-name/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-230992</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Three new species of chameleons emerge from centuries-old entanglement</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/three-new-species-of-chameleons-emerge-from-centuries-old-entanglement/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/three-new-species-of-chameleons-emerge-from-centuries-old-entanglement/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Mar 2020 03:05:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/20023301/C_radamanus_Vohimana-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=228059</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation in Madagascar]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Endangered Species, Herps, Lizards, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Reptiles, Species Discovery, and Taxonomy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For more than 180 years, several soft-nosed chameleons from Madagascar sat together in a single species complex (Calumma nasutum) until scientists decided to take a closer look. They disentangled the chameleons into 16 distinct species and, in the process, described three new ones. Calumma emelinae from the east coast of Madagascar, C. tjiasmantoi from the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For more than 180 years, several soft-nosed chameleons from Madagascar sat together in a single species complex (Calumma nasutum) until scientists decided to take a closer look. They disentangled the chameleons into 16 distinct species and, in the process, described three new ones. Calumma emelinae from the east coast of Madagascar, C. tjiasmantoi from the southeast, and C. ratnasariae from the north officially joined the ranks of more than 90 species of chameleon that are endemic to Madagascar, according to a recent paper published in Vertebrate Zoology. Chameleons are best known for their ability to change colors. Sometimes it’s for camouflage, but it can also be a display to dazzle a female or reflect a mood change. They also have a wicked sense of sight — uncoupled eyeballs that can rove independent of each other — and sticky tongues that can stretch to lengths longer than their bodies. A Parson’s chameleon (C. parsonii). Image by Rhett A.Butler On Madagascar, the oldest island in the world, there is such a variety of them that scientists are still scratching their heads over where to put them. The island hosts not just the largest chameleon, the Parson’s chameleon (C. parsonii), but also the tiniest, Brookesia micra. Those two are easy to tell apart, but distinguishing others in between can prove tricky, which is why specimens collected from decades ago, sometimes centuries, remain taxonomically tangled. “In the last 15 years several expeditions to Madagascar have been organized, and in the last five years we focused on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/three-new-species-of-chameleons-emerge-from-centuries-old-entanglement/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/three-new-species-of-chameleons-emerge-from-centuries-old-entanglement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-228059</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Just incredible&#8217; reptiles and amphibians of South Africa: Q&#038;A with Tyrone Ping</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/just-incredible-reptiles-and-amphibians-of-south-africa-qa-with-tyrone-ping/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/just-incredible-reptiles-and-amphibians-of-south-africa-qa-with-tyrone-ping/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Mar 2020 16:25:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/03/16155907/The-most-venomous-cobra-in-Afica-Cape-Cobra-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=227924</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Animals, Conservation, Frogs, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Interviews, Lizards, Reptiles, Snakes, Turtles, and Turtles And Tortoises]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Tyrone Ping had ample opportunity to admire reptiles and amphibians as a child, and this initial herpetological hobby has led to a life-long fascination. At some point when he was old enough, Ping began adventuring throughout Southern Africa to locate, photograph, and document as many of these creatures as possible. Mongabay asked him about this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Tyrone Ping had ample opportunity to admire reptiles and amphibians as a child, and this initial herpetological hobby has led to a life-long fascination. At some point when he was old enough, Ping began adventuring throughout Southern Africa to locate, photograph, and document as many of these creatures as possible. Mongabay asked him about this obsession and what he sees as the major things to celebrate about the herpetofauna of his region, as well as the challenges faced by these creatures. Mongabay: What got you interested in ‘herps’? Tyrone Ping: Growing up in the sub-tropical city of Durban in South Africa, reptiles and amphibians are just something you come into contact with all the time. As a kid spending time outside at home, in the garden I’d often find chameleons, lizards, frogs and snakes in a pretty suburban area, so I’d say coming into contact with all these animals certainly helped kickstart my fascination. What is special about herps in South Africa, what are they known for? There are so many endemic species of herps in Southern Africa, it’s honestly hard to pick a few species. But certainly the adders: there are 11 species which include the largest, the Gaboon adder (Bitis gabonica), and the smallest, the Namaqua dwarf adder (Bitis schneideri), they’re just incredible! When it comes to chameleons, there are 17 species of chameleons, of which 15 are dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion species) most being either threatened or critically endangered. And not forgetting the cobras and mambas – I mean&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/just-incredible-reptiles-and-amphibians-of-south-africa-qa-with-tyrone-ping/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-227924</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A ‘sly’ species of leaf-tailed gecko uncovered from Madagascar</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/a-sly-species-of-leaf-tailed-gecko-uncovered-from-madagascar/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/a-sly-species-of-leaf-tailed-gecko-uncovered-from-madagascar/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2019 02:45:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/10/23022738/P1104747-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=223660</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conservation in Madagascar]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Madagascar]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Lizards, Protected Areas, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Until they looked into the mouth of a leaf-tailed gecko collected in Madagascar last year, scientists couldn’t be sure they were looking at a new species of lizard. The specimen looked remarkably similar to a known species, Uroplatus ebenaui, known as the spearpoint leaf-tailed gecko and found only in Madagascar. Indeed, when the first specimen [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Until they looked into the mouth of a leaf-tailed gecko collected in Madagascar last year, scientists couldn’t be sure they were looking at a new species of lizard. The specimen looked remarkably similar to a known species, Uroplatus ebenaui, known as the spearpoint leaf-tailed gecko and found only in Madagascar. Indeed, when the first specimen was collected in 2004, it was believed to be of an U. ebenaui. At first glance, apart from a slightly longer tail and smoother skin on its back, there was little to distinguish it from the spearpoint leaf-tailed gecko. The first clue to its distinctiveness came from its genetic differentiation from U. ebenaui. “We then had to find more animals to make sure that these genetic results were not an anomaly,” said Mark D. Scherz, a herpetologist at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich. A tissue sample collected in 2011 confirmed the genetic differences. However, it wasn’t until scientists got their hands on a new specimen in 2018 that the morphological differences became evident. The inside of U. ebenaui’s mouth is totally black, while the new species has red patches on the sides of its mouth cavity. (Mouth coloration has emerged as an important distinguishing feature for  geckos in this genus.  Another recently described Uroplatus species, U. finaritra, was identified in part from its mouth color.) A specimen of Uroplatus ebenaui collected from Nosy Be in April 2019. Image Courtesy: Mark D. Scherz The new species, also known only from Madagascar, has now been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/a-sly-species-of-leaf-tailed-gecko-uncovered-from-madagascar/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-223660</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Meet the first gene-edited reptile: An albino lizard</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/meet-the-first-gene-edited-reptile-an-albino-lizard/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/meet-the-first-gene-edited-reptile-an-albino-lizard/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Aug 2019 03:51:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/27122827/This-image-shows-an-albino-lizard-hatchling-CREDIT-Doug-Menke-e1566923830518-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=221901</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Florida]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Genetic Engineering, Genetics, Lizards, and Reptiles]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Think of a reptile that’s been genetically mutated, and Godzilla springs to mind. Or maybe ninja turtles. But the real thing is here, and it’s neither hell-bent on destroying Tokyo nor eating pizza in the sewers. Instead, it’s a pale, finger-sized lizard — the world’s first gene-edited reptile, researchers at the University of Georgia, U.S., [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Think of a reptile that’s been genetically mutated, and Godzilla springs to mind. Or maybe ninja turtles. But the real thing is here, and it’s neither hell-bent on destroying Tokyo nor eating pizza in the sewers. Instead, it’s a pale, finger-sized lizard — the world’s first gene-edited reptile, researchers at the University of Georgia, U.S., reported this week. In a paper published in the journal Cell Reports, Douglas B. Menke and his colleagues described how they made an albino version of the brown anole (Anolis sagrei), a species of lizard native to Cuba and the Bahamas. “Instead of performing gene-editing on fertilized eggs or single-cell embryos, we performed gene-editing on unfertilized eggs while they are still physically attached to the ovary of adult female lizards,” said Menke, a geneticist and developmental biologist. The first genetically modified animal was a transgenic mouse, created in 1974. But it was only seven years later that researchers could edit genes that were passed on to future generations. In the case of the albino lizard, the changes are inheritable. Though gene editing has been around for decades and the advent of CRISPR technology makes it easier and is more efficient to carry out, doing so in reptilian zygotes is particularly challenging. Researchers consider it best to make an edit when the embryo is newly formed. For animals that reproduce sexually, the target is usually a single cell at this stage. In reptiles, it’s difficult to pin down when fertilization actually happens, in large part due&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/meet-the-first-gene-edited-reptile-an-albino-lizard/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-221901</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What’s in a name? For Sri Lanka’s newest geckos, a political firestorm</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/whats-in-a-name-for-sri-lankas-newest-geckos-a-political-firestorm/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/whats-in-a-name-for-sri-lankas-newest-geckos-a-political-firestorm/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Aug 2019 16:18:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/08/03102350/gecko-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=221909</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Herps, Lizards, Research, and Species Discovery]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[2019SEFD]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In 2017, herpetologist Sameera Suranjan Karunarathna and his team of researchers undertook a detailed study of lizards in more than 100 locations across Sri Lanka to record the distribution of different species and study their conservation status. What they didn’t bargain for was an ugly spat over the naming of six new species [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — In 2017, herpetologist Sameera Suranjan Karunarathna and his team of researchers undertook a detailed study of lizards in more than 100 locations across Sri Lanka to record the distribution of different species and study their conservation status. What they didn’t bargain for was an ugly spat over the naming of six new species of geckos discovered as part of the study. The issue has become so politically contentious that an ultra-nationalist politician has challenged the naming exercise in parliament, while a group of Buddhist monks is demanding police action be taken against Karunarathna, who is now the target of an online hate campaign. In the process, little attention is being paid to the discovery of the new species or the threats they face. Cnemaspis gotaimbarai is named after another of in honor of another of Dutugamunu’s loyal warriors, Gotaimbara. The species was discovered from the forested hills of Kokagala in Ampara district, a region of immense archaeological and historical significance. Image courtesy of Majintha Madawala. The new research paper, published in the journal Vertebrate Zoology, records the discovery of six new endemic geckos of the genus Cnemaspis from little-known areas in Sri Lanka. It was expected to be welcome news as Sri Lanka petitions for the protection of its endemic lizards at a global wildlife trade summit taking place in Geneva. But instead of celebrating the latest additions to the island’s remarkable list of unique reptiles, the researchers are now dealing with massive hostility. Two of the new&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/whats-in-a-name-for-sri-lankas-newest-geckos-a-political-firestorm/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-221909</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New rainforest gecko joins growing list of reptiles unique to Sri Lanka</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/new-rainforest-gecko-joins-growing-list-of-reptiles-unique-to-sri-lanka/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/new-rainforest-gecko-joins-growing-list-of-reptiles-unique-to-sri-lanka/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jun 2019 12:56:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/06/11124457/edited-new-768x397.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=219392</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Lizards, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[2018SEFD]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From the eastern fringe of Sri Lanka’s only rainforest, Sinharaja, scientists have described a new species of day gecko, the latest to join an ever-expanding list of remarkable reptiles found only on this Indian Ocean island. The Godagedara’s day gecko (Cnemaspis godagedarai) is described in a paper published in the June edition of the journal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From the eastern fringe of Sri Lanka’s only rainforest, Sinharaja, scientists have described a new species of day gecko, the latest to join an ever-expanding list of remarkable reptiles found only on this Indian Ocean island. The Godagedara’s day gecko (Cnemaspis godagedarai) is described in a paper published in the June edition of the journal Amphibian &amp; Reptile Conservation, which places it in the unique microhabitat of Ensalwatte, in the southern district of Matara. “The gecko was discovered in a mountainous area that lies between 700 and 800 meters [2,300 and 2,600 feet] above sea level and isolated from the rest of the forest canopy by streams,” herpetofaunal ecologist and lead author Suranjan Karunarathna told Mongabay. “This type of isolation is very special and the endemic species like this day gecko will be ‘point endemic,’” or restricted to a very small area. “The highly restricted habitat shows that the species is susceptible to both localized and widespread threats. It is critically endangered due to having a very small geo-referenced location of about 500 miles [800 kilometers] radius,” Karunarathna said. The study says the species should be considered critically endangered under the IUCN Red List criteria. The researchers named the new gecko after Godagedara Rate Adikaram, a national hero who fought in the uprising against the British colonial government from 1817 to 1818. C. godagedarai becomes the 25th distinct species of Cnemaspis day gecko found only in Sri Lanka. According to the researchers,it closely resembles C. gemunu, C. phillipsi and C.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/new-rainforest-gecko-joins-growing-list-of-reptiles-unique-to-sri-lanka/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-219392</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Unusual lizard lays eggs, then births a live baby — in the same pregnancy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/04/unusual-lizard-lays-eggs-then-births-a-live-baby-in-the-same-pregnancy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/04/unusual-lizard-lays-eggs-then-births-a-live-baby-in-the-same-pregnancy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Apr 2019 08:09:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/04/05070100/saiphos_highres_npezaro-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=217180</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Environment, Evolution, Herps, Lizards, Reptiles, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The yellow-bellied three-toed skink is not your typical lizard. Vertebrates or animals with backbones usually reproduce in one of two ways: they either lay eggs or they give birth to a live young baby. But the three-toed skink (Saiphos equalis) does both, its mode of reproduction varying with geography. In the warmer, coastal areas around Sydney, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The yellow-bellied three-toed skink is not your typical lizard. Vertebrates or animals with backbones usually reproduce in one of two ways: they either lay eggs or they give birth to a live young baby. But the three-toed skink (Saiphos equalis) does both, its mode of reproduction varying with geography. In the warmer, coastal areas around Sydney, populations of the skink are known to lay eggs, while those living in the colder mountains of New South Wales give birth to live young. What mode of reproduction it follows, however, doesn’t seem to be influenced by environmental conditions, previous research has found, because swapping populations doesn&#8217;t appear to change how it reproduces, suggesting genetics may be at play. But a female three-toed skink in a lab at the University of Sydney threw up a surprise. The skink, originally collected from a high-elevation population that’s known to give birth to live young, first laid eggs, then weeks later, birthed a live baby — all part of the same pregnancy. One of the incubated eggs hatched into a healthy baby. This is the first time biologists have observed both egg-laying and live-bearing in a single litter of a vertebrate animal, researchers report in a new study published in Biology Letters. “It is a very unusual discovery,” Camilla Whittington, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences and co-author of the study, said in a statement. “We were studying the genetics of these skinks when we noticed one of the live-bearing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/04/unusual-lizard-lays-eggs-then-births-a-live-baby-in-the-same-pregnancy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-217180</doi>				</item>
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