Discover new species of gecko

French scientists say they successfully hatched a new species of gecko from the eggs collected in an island in the southern Pacific.

Ivan Ineich, a reptile expert at the French National Museum of Natural History, said they found the gecko in an expedition in Espiritu Santo, in the Vanuatu archipelago (southwest Pacific, eastern Australia) in 2006.

When returning to France, they brought with them nine gecko eggs. The above eggs are wrapped in antibacterial paper and taken to Paris through a long distance of 19,200 km. After hatching, eight of the nine geckos died due to inappropriate temperatures and only one was alive.

The French National Museum of Natural History said it was the first time a new species of lizard was classified based on an individual hatched from eggs.

Given the Latin name Lepidodactylus buleli , the new gecko species has a body length of about 7.6 cm, living on tree tops along the west coast of Espiritu Santo island.

Scientist Ivan Ineich " shows off " the lizard Lepidodactylus buleli at the French National Museum of Natural History (Paris) on November 7 (photo: AP)