It may seem like yet another set of picture-perfect tropical islands: high cliffs and modest hills rolling into the brilliant blue Atlantic Ocean. Scrubby bushes and small rocks dominate the…
There’s still so much we don’t know about life on planet Earth that scientists discover new species with whom we share this planet nearly every day. For instance, this year…
Across the swath of vertebrate lifeforms that inhabit Earth, scientists have a pretty good idea about where most of the known land mammals, birds and amphibians live. That makes identifying…
In a tiny, remote region of Myanmar, scientists have discovered 19 new species of strikingly patterned geckos. These lizards were found in isolated limestone hills and towers (known as karst)…
BOGOR, Indonesia — Scientists have discovered two new reptiles in the jungles of Sumatra island — home to the nation’s highest deforestation rate. Lycodon sidiki has become the seventh species…
Dealers in India are trying to sell dried penises of illegally caught monitor lizards to unwitting customers looking to buy a rare Indian plant root called "Hatha Jodi", a wildlife…
It started out as an interest in lacertids – a family of small lizards native to Asia, Europe, and Africa – an itch to “understand what was going on with…
A 2015 study found that humans activities are driving species loss at a rate 100 times faster than historical baseline levels — which the researchers behind the study characterized as…
On an island in Papua New Guinea, scientists say they have rediscovered a species of monitor lizard thought to be "lost" to science since the 1800s. The medium-sized lizard was…
SUKAU, Malaysia – At first blush, the muddy waters of the Kinabatangan River in northern Borneo seem to laze through a hodge-podge of sleepy fishing and farming villages. The river…
On the streets of Morocco, several species of lizards, tortoise and snakes are being sold openly for use in traditional medicine, a new study has found. Many of these species are…
Islands possess many unique gifts from evolution. Their isolation from the mainland give them an identity all their own: these small pieces of land are often filled with species that…
When at risk, go naked. At least that’s the defense strategy of a newly described species of gecko that can shed its scales in the face – or in this…
The Philippine Islands have long been known as a hotspot of biodiversity. Until recently, though, scientists had an incomplete understanding of the extent of reptile and amphibian diversity in Mindanao,…
A chameleon-like lizard is one of the first new anole species found in the Dominican Republic in decades. The species could help solve a mystery that has long puzzled scientists…
There is a longstanding disagreement amongst conservationists about whether or not it makes sense to focus efforts on protecting species that are popular with us Homo sapiens. Many argue that…
Tropidurus is a ubiquitous genus of lizard endemic to South America, and now there are three new species amongst its ranks. André Luiz G. Carvalho of the American Museum of…
The discoveries include three new frogs, three new catfish, and one new lizard species.
A new species of fat-tailed gecko has been discovered by scientists in Australia. The gecko, which was given the name Diplodactylus ameyi, is a specialized termite predator found in outback…
On Mussau, a remote island of the country of Papua New Guinea, biologists have discovered a new species of monitor lizard with a turquoise or blue-pigmented tail. The lizard also…
