Scientists from Peru and Ecuador have discovered a new species of lizard in the northern Peruvian Andes, within a natural reserve located in the Pagaibamba Protection Forest, 2,770 to 3,172 metres above sea level. The lizard was named 'Petracola ianwhitei' and lives under rocks and logs, both at the edge of the cloud forest and in open areas.
As EFE reports, this lizard, with reddish and black scales, stands out from other of the same group for lacking sexual dichromatism, as well as lacking other structures present in closely related species. But to make sure it was a new species, scientists had to analyse over 250 lizards, using molecular and morphological evidence to make sure that, indeed, this was a lizard species never before seen or recorded anywhere else.
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The discovery was made as part of a study published by scientific journal 'Zootaxa' and a broader study from Natural History Museum at the National University of San Marcos and other institutions in Peru and Ecuador.
It is not rare that scientists discover new species of animals: it is estimated that science discover around 15,000 to 18,000 new species every year. Only in that studio, four additional new species in the Peruvian Andes were discovered, but this lizard was the one that stood out for scientists, as new lizard discoveries are not that common compared to other species.