An anole lizard silhouetted on a rainforest leaf. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. The biggest factor determining species diversity and distribution on islands is not size and isolation, as traditional…
This potentially new lizard species was discovered on the last day of a survey in a cloud forest in Andean Peru. Photo: Luis Mamani. A group of Peruvian and Mexican…
The earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis). Barely seen since its description in 1878, the species has suddenly become a victim of wildlife trafficking for the pet trade. Photo by: Indraneil…
At around 7-8 cm long, the Mount Mabu pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon maspictus) is a relatively large species. Its name comes from the Latin for ‘painted man’, reflecting the striking green,…
A two inch long Alopoglossus viridiceps shade lizard. Photo by Torres-Carvajal Researchers have discovered a colorful lizard species in the cloud forests of northwestern Ecuador. The species, dubbed Alopoglossus viridiceps,…
The Cape Melville leaf-tailed gecko (Saltuarius eximius) is one of the top ten new species from 2013. Photo by: Conrad Hoskin. Out of around 18,000 new species described and named…
Malaysia is set to lose ancient limestone formations to quarrying despite the discovery of new species of geckos in the area. The species are described by Dr. L. Lee Grismer…
Male Potamites erythrocularis stream lizard. Photo by Alessandro Catenazzi. A 'new' species of lizard has been described from the cloud forests of Peru's Manu National Park, reports SERNANP, the Peruvian…
Scientists have identified a new species of day gecko that is the largest in its genus (Cnemaspis) to be found in Sri Lanka. To date, it has been observed only…
Innovation in Tropical Forest Conservation: Q&A with Corey Bradshaw Primary peat forest in Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Much of Dr. Corey Bradshaw's work has a singular aim: to…
Collared treerunner in Colombia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Now, that’s a horse of a different color. Or, in this case, a lizard of another species—four species. Recent research suggests…
As temperatures increase worldwide due to anthropogenic climate change, scientists are scrambling to figure out if species will be able to survive rapidly warming ecosystems. A new study in Global…
Institutions and governments have been scanning human irises for years to verify one's identity—Google has been using this method since 2011—but could iris-scanning be employed on other species as well?…
New leaf-tail gecko. Photo copyright Tim Laman / National Geographic Researchers from James Cook University and National Geographic discovered three new herp species — a cryptic leaf-tail gecko, a colorful…
Four previously unknown species of legless lizard have been described in California, report researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and Cal State-Fullerton. The species, all members of the…
Before the arrival of humans—with their dogs, cats, and wild pigs—the northern Bahamian rock iguana ruled its home range, being pound-for-pound among the biggest land animals on the islands. In…
Last Wednesday, bulldozers entered the Loma Charco Azul Biological Reserve (LCABR) in the Dominican Republic and began clearing vegetation for agricultural development. The move stunned local conservationists who had not…
Illegally traded lizards (left to right): black tree monitor (Varanus beccarii), Reisinger's tree monitor (Varanus reisingeri), emerald monitor (Varanus prasinus), and the blue-spotted tree monitor (Varanus macraei). Photo courtesy of…
Millions of tokay geckos continue to be traded for traditional medicine, despite waning belief that the colorful lizards are a cure for AIDS, reports a new study from TRAFFIC. The…
Parson's chameleon in Madagascar Madagascar's color-changing chameleons originated in Africa and crossed over to the island some 65 million years ago, concludes a study published this week in the Proceedings…
New species of woodlizard: Enyalioides binzayedi. Photo by: P.J. Venegas. Scientists have discovered two new species of woodlizards from the Peruvian Amazon. Woodlizards, in the genus Enyalioides, are little-known reptiles…
Green iguana in Colombia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Nearly a fifth the planet's reptiles are threatened with extinction, warns a new assessment published in the journal Biological Conservation. The…
Scientists have discovered a new population of the Belalanda chameleon (Furcifer belalandaensis), boosting hope for one of Madagascar's rarest chameleons. While the species was known only from a handful of…
Sirenoscincus mobydick. Image courtesy of France's National Centre for Scientific Research. An international team of scientists have described a bizarre new species of worm-like lizard that lives underground. Strangely, they…
Male Calotes bachae. Photo by Peter Geissler. German and Russian biologists have discovered a stunning new species of lizard in Vietnam. The species, dubbed Calotes bachae, is described in a…
The critically endangered electric blue day gecko (Lygodactylus willoamsi) from Tanzania. This species is being bred in captivity — wild populations are suffering from habitat destruction and over-collection for the…
Spotted hyena in the Masai Mara. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Animals of the Masai Mara is the first illustrated guidebook to the Masai Mara region along the Kenya and…
Researchers in Australia have described three new lizard species from the northwestern part of the continent. The new species — the Elegant Rainbow Skink (Carlia decora), the Orange-flanked Rainbow Skink…
Illegally traded lizards (left to right): black tree monitor (Varanus beccarii), Reisinger's tree monitor (Varanus reisingeri), emerald monitor (Varanus prasinus), and the blue-spotted tree monitor (Varanus macraei). Photo courtesy of…
Blue iguana in Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park. Photo by: Lhb1239. The wild blue iguana population has increased by at least 15 times in the last ten years, prompting the…
