‘Secretive’ creature fell from treetops near scientists in Vietnam. It’s a new species
Walking along a trail at a national park in Vietnam, a pair of scientists scanned the forest. The last rays of sunlight were filtering through the heavy canopy when something caught their attention.
An unusual creature with a “triangular” head was perched on a tree trunk. It was a new species.
Nikolay Poyarkov and Platon Yushchenko were surveying reptiles and amphibians in Cat Tien National Park in 2021, according to a study published June 23 in the journal Zootaxa. The park is a well-known wildlife hotspot and “one of the most well-surveyed regions in Vietnam.”
Research expeditions, surveys and other animal monitoring efforts have been ongoing in Cat Tien National Park “for over 35 years,” researchers said.
But that particular day, Yushchenko spotted some unusual-looking lizards, the study’s lead author Poyarkov told McClatchy News.
The pair of lizards were perched together on a tree trunk about 5 feet off the ground, the study said. As researchers approached, the animals “tried to escape” by climbing up the tree.
“My student Platon (Yushchenko) caught one by accident,” Poyarkov said.
Researchers took a closer look at the lizard and discovered a new species: Hemiphyllodactylus cattien, or the Cat Tien slender gecko, the study said.
The Cat Tien slender gecko is a “secretive,” tree-dwelling animal, researchers said. Despite two years of searching, researchers couldn’t find any more specimens.
The gecko that Yushchenko caught probably “fell down from the higher canopy,” Poyarkov said. “The discovery was quite unexpected.”
Researchers were able to identify the new species as distinct based on its body shape and DNA, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had between 20% and 24% genetic divergence from other known geckos.
The Cat Tien slender gecko has a “triangular” head and “unsheathed” claws, the study said. Its body is a “wheat-gray” color with “dark-brown and white” speckles. Including its ashy gray regenerated tail, the gecko is about 2 inches long.
Most gecko species in Vietnam live in higher mountainous areas, but the Cat Tien slender gecko was discovered in the lowland areas of the national park, researchers said. The new species probably lives throughout the park and surrounding lowlands.
The discovery “further emphasizes the importance of continual sampling of areas already perceived as being well-surveyed,” researchers said.
Ca Tien National Park is in southern Vietnam, about 90 miles northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
The research team included Yushchenko, L. Lee Grismer, Andrey Bragin, Le Xuan Dac and Poyarkov.
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