Biologists identify new gecko in Madagascar

Scientists have identified a new gecko species in Madagascar. The tsaranoro gecko (Paragehyra tsaranoro) showed up in small patches of community-managed forests just outside Andringitra National Park. The lizard is nocturnal and elusive, living in rocky areas where it easily camouflages itself. Local communities protect the forest patches where researchers found tsaranoro geckos because they are sacred sites where the locals perform funeral rites. Francesco Belluardo of the University of Molise in Italy led the fieldwork to identify the species and collaborated with several local researchers and guides, including Malalatiana Rasoazanany, a biologist at the University of Antananarivo. “Someone from the village always accompanied us, both to assist in the work and to confirm that we were respecting the fady and not damaging the site,” Rasoazany said. In Malagasy culture, fady are a wide range of important cultural taboos that can vary between communities or even families. “The involvement of the local community is essential because once they understand the value of a species, for example, for ecotourism, they are more motivated to protect it,” she said. With the recent discovery, there are now 150 species of geckos in Madagascar and 439 total species of reptiles, 98% of which are endemic. In the study announcing the new classification, Belluardo and his coauthors argued that the species should be listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List due to its limited range and numbers.

Read more at Mongabay.