‘Unique’ creature with gold eyes found lurking in cave in Thailand. It’s a new species
Inside a cave in southern Thailand, a golden-eyed creature sat on a large boulder. The “unique” animal caught the attention of passing scientists — and turned out to be a new species.
Researchers ventured into a rocky karst forest in Satun province in January to survey local wildlife, according to a study published Oct. 2 in the journal Zootaxa.
During their fieldwork, researchers entered a cave and found a lizard sitting inside, the study said. They captured the lizard, and, after taking a closer look, realized they’d discovered a new species: Cyrtodactylus disjunctus, or the Pawang bent-toed gecko.
The Pawang bent-toed gecko is about 6 inches in length, the study said. It has claws, “large” golden eyes and a “relatively long” body. Researchers described the new species as a “unique” and “highly distinctive” cave-dwelling lizard.
A photo shows the Pawang bent-toed gecko perched on a rock. It has a chestnut brown body with several darker brown, almost black, bands running across its back. Its tail is lighter toward the tip, making it look white-washed.
Researchers described the new species based on a single specimen. A second juvenile Pawang bent-toed gecko was observed but not collected, the study said.
The new species was named after the Latin word for “disjunct” or “remote” because of how far it is from other known species of bent-toed geckos, researchers said.
The Pawang bent-toed gecko has been found only in one cave of Satun province, the study said. This province is about 570 miles southwest of Bangkok and along the Thailand-Malaysia border. Researchers expect the new species also lives in the neighboring Malaysian state of Perlis.
The new species was identified by its color pattern, body shape and scale pattern, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had between about 18% and about 24% genetic divergence from other bent-toed geckos.
The research team included L. Lee Grismer, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Sabira Idiiatullina, Alexei Trofimets, Roman Nazarov, Chatmongkon Suwannapoom and Nikolay Poyarkov.
This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 1:42 PM with the headline "‘Unique’ creature with gold eyes found lurking in cave in Thailand. It’s a new species."
