Peculiar new ‘dwarf’ species found in towering cathedrals of rocks in Madagascar
In northwestern Madagascar, the landscape is defined by a forest of towering jagged limestone peaks called “tsingys.”
In Malagasy, the word translates to a place “where one cannot walk barefoot.” But this terrain is no problem for a specialized dwarf creature that calls the karstic plateau home.
Lygodactylus andavambato is a new “peculiar” species of dwarf gecko recently discovered in the caves and narrow rock crevices of Tsingy de Namoroka National Park during a field expedition in 2023, according to a study published July 23 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
Lygodactylus andavambato is unique for its relatively “slender” build compared to the “robust” appearance of other closely related species, researchers said.
It has a distinct banding pattern on its tail and in life, their bodies have an “intense” contrast of brown and yellow colors, researchers said. Including its tail, the new species is just over 2.5 inches long.
Most of the specimens were “collected on large and smooth whitish limestone walls, at eye-level, either at the entrances of caves or along relatively dark corridors of fresh air running right through the massif,” according to the study.
Others, however, were found “outside of the very heart of the Tsingy massif” in the neighboring savanna near clusters of rock slabs, the study said. This suggests the new dwarf gecko is not strictly a cave-dweller, but rather, a species that requires narrow rock crevices to shelter.
Lygodactylus andavambato is one of three new dwarf gecko species discovered during the 2023 expeditions to the region.
The research team included Miguel Vences, Cecilia Herrmann, Malte Multzsch, Sven Gippner, Delina Razafimanafo, Ny Ando Rahagalala, Sandratra Rakotomanga, Andolalao Rakotoarison, Frank Glaw and Aurélien Miralles.
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Peculiar new ‘dwarf’ species found in towering cathedrals of rocks in Madagascar."
