Vietnamese scientist participates in discovering new rock lizard species

Vietnamese scientists and international colleagues discovered a new species of rock lizard, living on limestone mountains in central Laos.

>>>Discover the 20th lizard in Vietnam

Rock lizard Aaron Bauer.(Photo: Ngo Van Tri)

Rock lizard Aaron Bauer (scientific name Gekko aaronbaueri sp.) Was discovered in Kham Muon province, central Laos. It is named after Professor Aaron Bauer, University of Pennsylvania, USA, who has made great contributions to the scientific discovery of reptiles in the world.

This species has the largest head body length of about 80mm, the body has many white spots mixed with yellow streaks on the back. Their habitats are limestone mountains.

This is the discovery of Mr. Ngo Van Tri, an officer of the Institute of Tropical Biology of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology; Lao, French colleagues and the Education Department of Hoa Vang district, Da Nang.

Animal researcher Ngo Van Tri said, the new discovery shows the previous mistake about the distribution of the smooth lizard Gekko scientiadventura in Laos, affirming that the smooth back lizard is endemic to Vietnam . This species is found in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.

The study was published in Zootaxa magazine on January 27.