8/2/2019 Tech _ Science _ New Iridescent Lizard, Sea Snake
Species Discovered
1/2
S & T Science
New ir idescent l izar d, sea snak e species discover ed
PTI
AFP
AFPa new lizard species at Ratanak Kiri province, some 600
kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh.
A new species of lizard with striking iridescent rainbow skin, a
long tail and very short legs has been discovered inthe rainforest
in northeast Cambodia, conservationists announced Wednesday.
Scientists named the skinkLygosoma veunsaiensisto honour the
Veun Sai-Siem Pang Conservation Area inRattanakiri province where
it was found, Conservation International (CI) said in a
statement.
The lizard was discovered in 2010 in the remote and
little-explored rainforest area during biological surveys led
byFauna & Flora International (FFI) in partnership with CI, the
group said.
These creatures are difficult to find because they spend so much
of their life underground, said Neang Thy, aCambodian national
working for FFI and the first herpetologist to see the new
skink.
Some similar species are known from only a few individuals. We
were very lucky to find this one, said Neang Thy.
The new species is unusual because it has very short limbs and a
tail that is much longer than its main body. Its skinhas a
refracting quality to the scales that creates a rainbow-like effect
in sunlight, the group said.
The lizard was the third new species in the last two years to be
found in Veun Sai, following the discovery of a newtype of bat and
a gibbon.
Scientists have discovered a new species of sea snake in the
Gulf of Carpenteria, a shallow sea enclosed on three
sides by Australia, which they claim could provide important
clues about evolution.The snake, which is unique in having raised
scales, has been given the scientific name Hy drophis donaldiiand
thecommon name rough-scaled sea snake to reflect the scalation,
says a team at the University of Queensland.
Prof Bryan Fry, who led the team, said that Hy drophis
donaldiihad evaded earlier discovery as it prefers
estuarinehabitats which are poorly surveyed and also not targeted
by commercial fisheries.
We can see over 200 sea snakes in a single night's hunting,
whereas sea snake populations have really crashedelsewhere through
over-fishing removing their prey and also the snakes drowning in
trawling nets, Prof Fry said.
The scientists say the findings extend beyond simply discovering
a rare animal. All venomous animals are bio-resources and provided
sources of many life-saving medications such as treatments for
high-blood pressure anddiabetes.
This reinforces why we need to conserve all of nature as the
next billion dollar wonder-drug may come from as
unlikely a source as sea snake venom, Prof Fry said in a
release. The discovery has been published in the
Zootaxajournal.
Keywords: new species of lizard, Fauna & Flora
International
Share
Hindu : Sci-Tech / Science : New iridescent lizard, sea snake
speci... http://ww
w.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article2920632.ece
2 23-02-2012 09:45
Create PDF with GetPDF on Windows 7, Vista, XP, Server 2003,
2008. To remove this mark, buy a license.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article2920632.ecehttp://www.getpdf.com/http://www.getpdf.com/http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article2920632.ece
