Miniature Wood Lizards Recently Discovered in Andes Resemble Dragons

An international team of researchers recently discovered three new species of wood lizards along the Andes in South America.

The dragon-like lizards were found after an extensive search in an area of 1.5 million square kilometers in western South America bordering Peru and Ecuador. The lizards, Enyalioides altotambo, Enyalioides anisolepis and Enyalioides sophiarothschildae, were spotted earlier but classified as new species only recently. Researchers from Museo de Zoología QCAZ, in Ecuador, CORBIDI in Peru and Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in U.S.A collaborated in discovery.

The new species of wood lizard (Enyalioides) have distinctive features, coloration and also differ in DNA from their relatives. Following DNA comparison with other species of wood lizard specimens in natural history museums across the world, the team was able to confirm their find.

Currently about 15 species of wood lizards are known to biologist but the number was only six in 2006.

"During the last few years we doubled the number of known species of wood lizards, showing that the diversity of these conspicuous reptiles had been underestimated. That more than half of the diversity of a group of large, dragon-looking reptiles from South America has been discovered in recent years should be heard by people in charge of conservation and funding agencies," said Dr. Torres-Carvajal, one of the research team members.