New Dragon Lizard Species From Southeast Asia Can Make Itself ‘Almost Invisible’ in Natural Habitat

Researchers discovered a new species of dragon lizard in Southeast Asia. The newly discovered lizard has remarkable camouflage skills that it can make itself "almost invisible" in its natural habitat.

New Dragon Lizard Species From Southeast Asia

The peculiar lizard, described for the first time in a new study, belongs to a family known as Agamidae, many of which are called "dragons" or "dragon lizards." The newly identified species is known only from a single limestone outcrop in the craggy and mountainous karst landscape of Khammouan Province in central Laos.

A team of scientists decided to give it the scientific name Laodracon carsticola, which honors the nation and environment in which the reptile was discovered. The Greek-derived Latin term "dracon," with the meanings "dragon" or "basilisk," is used in English.

The reptile has rough textured scales and bluish-gray eyes, and the scientists have suggested calling it the "Khammouan karst dragon." Its body is mostly black or slate gray, with white markings and little reddish and bluish patches scattered throughout.

According to the researchers, the enigmatic medium-sized lizard, less than half a foot long, is perfectly adapted to survive on the limestone cliffs and pinnacles it calls home.

Many agree that karst environments are exceptional biodiversity hotspots and safe havens for some of the world's most endangered species. Many creatures have been specialized, including the new species, to the myriad microhabitats with stable climatic conditions created by the broken nature of these landscapes, littered with towers, caverns, and hills.

In general, karst topography is characterized by rocky, arid land made of soluble rock, such as limestone or gypsum, with caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers, among other distinguishing features. The subsurface water's dissolving action on the soluble rock produces this type of landscape.

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Evolution of Lizard

Lizards are adept at evolution and move through it more quickly than other animals. As they extend their lands into cities, the mutating lizards in Puerto Rico have acquired new abilities.

According to a prior study, Anolis cristatellus, a crested anole, has new scales that allow it to adhere to smoother surfaces like smooth walls and windows in cities. Their legs tend to lengthen and seem stronger, in addition to developing additional scales. They can run quickly through open spaces without being seen by predators.

The team claimed that genetic mutations were the cause of the modifications. The Anolis cristatellus genome contains more than 30 genes related to urbanization.

Kristin Winchell, a professor of biology at New York University in the US, stated that if physical and genomic changes in urban populations occur simultaneously, it may be possible to forecast the population's response to urbanization by examining genetic markers.

Lizards may evolve far more quickly than other species, which must wait millions of years to do so. Five adult pairs of Italian wall lizards were relocated from Pod Kopiste to Pod Mrcaru, a small island in the south Adriatic Sea, in 1971. Researchers discovered the 5-inch-long lizards had a completely different gut structure, larger heads, and a sharper bite after only a few decades. The over 5,000 Italian wall lizards living today are all descended from the first ten lizards brought to the island in the 1970s, according to genetic research on Mrcaru lizards.