A new species of gecko has been discovered on a remote and uninhabited island off the coast of Australia. The species has a “beak-like” face and a spiny tail, according to Queensland’s James Cook University.
The scientist Conrad Hoskin found the species on Scawfell Island, a small island about 50 kilometers off the coast of the northeastern state of Queensland. The gecko is said to be perfectly adapted to the rocks of the desert island, with its thin legs and leaf-shaped tail surrounded by a spiky fringe. During the day the animals hide between piled up boulders, at night they move out.
The species was introduced in the journal Zootaxa as the leaf-tailed gecko of Scawfell Island. According to Hoskin, there could only be about 30 specimens of the animals, which are about four inches long without a tail. However, it is difficult to accurately estimate the size of the population and occurrences on neighboring islands cannot be ruled out.
“It is incredible that large and spectacular new species are still being found in this day and age,” said the researcher. “The fact that this gecko has gone undiscovered by science shows that there are still areas of hidden secrets in Australia,” Hoskin said.
Source: Krone
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