The new lizard discovered in the rainy night

In the heavy rain, in the middle of the dark night, researcher Phung My Trung quietly searched in the shrubs lying close to the sea and the miracle came - he found a new species of toe-lizard.

Discover new lizard species in Phu Quy island, Binh Thuan

The new lizard has a scientific name, Dixonius taoi , also known as a paw-legged lizard , has just been discovered in Phu Quy island , Binh Thuan province. It is named after researcher Nguyen Thien Tao (Vietnam Nature Museum) in honor of his great contributions in the field of reptile and amphibian research in Vietnam.

The new species is about 44mm long, has 7-8 upper lip scales, 11-12 rows of protrusions around the middle of the body, 21-23 rows of abdominal scales. The body is brown with yellow spots arranged in two rows running parallel along the flanks, the back has many dark brown streaks forming the net shape.

Lizard Dixonius taoi.(Photo: Phung My Trung).

This is the fifth species of the genus Dixonius (leaf-legged lizard) discovered in Vietnam . The feeding reptiles of this night often live in coastal forests and low agricultural areas, where many layers of surface rocks are swept up by the water to create a smooth surface. Sometimes, scientists see them mixed in dry leaves in the forest. The food of the species is an insect that lives in the area.

Amphibian reptile researcher Phung My Trung recalls the day to Phu Quy island just in time of heavy rain and wind. After nearly a day on the train, he finally arrived at the island but was not happy to see the entire forest here was destroyed."Most of the agricultural land of the islanders, there are only a few species of pandanus odorant Pandanus odoratissimus growing in some remaining coastal areas," Trung said.

With this kind of landscape, he thought that no reptile would exist. But the passion of a researcher does not allow him to stop hoping for the remaining species in the devastated island to exhaust.

In the heavy rain, the night sky was covered with sea breeze, Phung My Trung quietly searched in the remaining shrubs close to the sea and the area of ​​agricultural land."The cold of the sea breeze has penetrated deep into the flesh. But I still do not stop, find forever, find forever, finally the sky does not please people when around 2am, I obtained two samples of individual children non-Dixonius, " Trung said. From there, he hopes to catch a few more mature individuals and the miracle has come in the indescribable joy.

The new species was searched by the researcher Phung My Trung in the late night.(Photo: Phung My Trung).

Talking about the above research, Dr. Nguyen Quang Truong (Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources) said that the new findings in the islands of Vietnam have a very important role, because not only assess the efforts of the Vietnamese researcher but also affirmed national sovereignty."We hope there will be many young scientists honoring the Vietnamese people , " Truong said.