Discover a new species of Lizard in Ninh Binh

Scientists have just published a new species of Lizard in the Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve, Ninh Binh province, in New Zealand's scientific journal Zootaxa.

Cyrtodactylus soni - (Photo: Le Trung Dung).

New species called Cyrtodactylus soni - Finger-painted lizard , species name is named after Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Lan Hung Son (Department of Biology, Hanoi National University of Education) to acknowledge his support for wildlife conservation in Vietnam. Specimens of new species were collected on limestone cliffs, near residential areas, at an altitude of 17 - 28 m above sea level and about 0.3 - 1.5 m above the ground. This species is currently only recorded in Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve, Ninh Binh Province.

Lizard finger painting is characterized by a medium body size, body length reaching 103 cm; 10 - 13 rows of dorsal spines, 41 to 45 rows of abdominal scales; with lateral folds; 6 - 7 pre-vented holes in males and 7-8 shallow edges in front of acupoints in females, 6 - 8 thigh holes in males; enlarged thigh scales; 2 - 3 spikes after acupoints; lower tail scales expand; The upper body has uneven black streaks. When comparing DNA sequences on the COI gene, the new species is most similar to Cyrtodactylus huongsonensis (recorded in Huong Son mountain area, Hanoi) but the difference is 5 - 5.5%.

The study is the result of cooperation between Hanoi National University of Education, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, American Museum of Natural History and Cologne Zoo, Germany.