Brachylophus gau: A new species of South Pacific Iguana from Gau Island, Fiji.

Three living and one extinct species of South Pacific Iguana, Brachylophus spp., are known from the islands of Fiji, as well as a single species of a second genus Lapitiguana, a much larger, but also now extinct, Lizard. These Iguana’s are thought to have lived in isolation in the island group for around 40 million years, with their closest living relatives found in the deserts of the southwestern United States. Each species of South Pacific Iguana is recorded only from a single island, but several other islands of Fiji are known to host Iguanas, suggesting that either some of these species have greater ranges than has previously been recorded, or that there are undiscovered species of Iguana in the islands.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 6 June 2017, Robert Fisher of the San Diego Field Station of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Ecological Research Center, Jone Niukula of The National Trust of Fiji, Dick Watling of NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, and Peter Harlow of the Taronga Conservation Society, describe a new species of South Pacific Iguana from Gau Island, Fiji.

The new species is named Brachylophus gau, the Gau Iguana, and is distinguishable from all other members of the genus by the colouration of the throat, which is a plain green in both sexes. The species has a mean snout-vent length (length excluding the tail of 149.2 mm, and a maximum of 153 mm (the total length, including the tail, was not used as several specimens showed signs of having lost and regrown their tails, which will reduce this). These Iguanas are bright green in colour, shading from avocado green on their backs to sulphur green on their bellies, with a series of blue-grey bands on their body and tail. 

Illustration of the male, left, and female, right, of Brachylophus gau. The painting is from photographs of these specimens and others from life. Measurements to scale within illustration. The male is missing later 2/3 of tail, but tail drawn here based on photos from other males. Cindy Hitchcock in Fisher et al. (2017).

Although this species had not previously been recorded, examination of museum specimens found two additional examples of this Iguana in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London. These were donated by John MacGillivray of the H.M.S. Herald in 1855, with a recorded location only of ‘Fiji’. Examination of the MacGillivray’s private journal shows that the H.M.S. Herald did indeed visit Gau Island on 12 and 27 September 1854, where MacGillivray shot Green Iguanas hidden in the foliage of the Ivi (Tahitian Chestnut) Tree.

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A new species of Twig Anole from Panama.

Anles are small Iguanid Lizards found in the Southern United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Twig Anoles, Norops spp., form a distinct cluster of medium sized Anole Lizard species within the genus Norops. There are currently eight species in assigned to this group, all from Central America, though it is likely that there are more, undescribed, species living in the wild.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 15 December 2014, Kirsten Nicholson of the Department of Biology and Museum of Cultural and Natural History at Central Michigan University, and Gunther Köhler of the Senckenberg Forschungsinstitutund Naturmuseum describe a new species of Twig Anole from a single male specimen collected beside a road just outside the Filo del Tallo Park in Darién Province, Panama.

The new species is named Norops triumphalis, meaning ‘victory’, in reference to the elation felt by Kirsten Nicholson and her party when they caught the Lizard, which was initially sighted crossing the road at high speed in front of the moving vehicle containing the group.

The only known specimen of Norops triumphalis. John Phillips in Nicholson & Köhler (2014).

The specimen is 54.4 mm in length and has a ‘lichenous’ body pattern of mottled grey, with a distinctive and very large yellowish orange dewlap (a mating display structure on the throat of Anole Lizards, which often has species specific colouration). It can also be differentiated from other members of the group by the shape and distribution of its scales.

Dewlap of Norops triumphalis. John Phillips in Nicholson & Köhler (2014).

The Lizard was captured crossing a paved road passing through an area of pasture, comprising thick grass, beside a mountain, which is the location of the Filo del Tallo Park. The area is agricultural and apparently used for Cattle grazing (though no Cows could be seen at the time when the Lizard was collected), and is a few hundred meters from a cluster of residences.

Habitat at the locality where Norops triumphalis was collected. David Laurencio in Nicholson & Köhler (2014).

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Four new species of Treerunner from northern South America.

Treerunners of the genus Plicaare Iguanid Lizards found in South America east of the Andes. They are medium sized, conspicuous...

Two new species of Woodlizard from northeast Peru.                                    Woodlizards (Enyalioides) are a group of Iguanas found living in woodland on either side of the Andes, from Bolivian north to Panama. The group has generally been viewed as being low-diversity, with...

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Four new species of Treerunner from northern South America.

Treerunners of the genus Plica are Iguanid Lizards found in South America east of the Andes. They are medium sized, conspicuous Lizards that are active in the daytime, living in small colonies on rock outcrops or trees, and therefore are well represented in museum collections, as they tend to attract the attention of collectors. There are four species currently recognized, though two of these are considered to be both widespread and morphologically variable, making it likely that there are a number of cryptic species (species that cannot easily be differentiated from similar species by simple visual examination, but which are nevertheless reproductively isolated) within the group.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 25 November 2013, John Murphy of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and Michael Jowers of the Departamento de Etología y Conservación de laBiodiversidad at the Estación Biológica de Doñana describe four new species of Treerunner, from populations previously described as Plica plica.

The first new species described is named Plica caribeana, in reference to its distribution, on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Plicac aribeana has a lower number of dorsal scale rows than Plica plica, 92-125 as opposed to 126-140, and was confirmed to be a separate species by genetic analysis. It is mottled green and brown in colour, with distinctive black markings, females tend to be slightly larger than the males. The species lives in colonies of 6-15 individuals in forests or forest edges, and is frequently observed on trees, rock-faces, buildings and even in caves. The species is insectivorous, feeding on Ants, Beetles, Spiders, Cicadas and other Arthropods, and itself appears to be a favoured prey item of the Tropical Flat Snake Siphlophis compressus. Females lay clutches of two eggs.

 Plica caribeana, from the Arima Valley of Trinidad. Murphy & Jowers (2014).

The second new species is named Plica kathleenae, in honour of the herpetologist Kathleen Kelly of the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Field Museum of Natural History. The species is described from a single male specimen collected by Emmet Reid Blake near the headwaters of the Itabu Creek in the Sierra Acarai Mountains of Guyana, close to the border with Brazil, during the Sewell Avery British Guiana Expedition of 1938. The specimen has 158 dorsal scale rows at mid body (considerably more than Plica plica) and is a dark brown colour with dark and light spots; though this is its colouration preserved in alcohol, and probably differes from the colouration of the living animal.

The head of Plica kathleenae in dorsal view. Murphy & Jowers (2014).

The third new species described is named Plica medemi, in honour of Colombian herpetologist Fredrico Medem, who collected the single known specimen of this species at Cerro de las Pinturas in Colombia in 1957. This species is also described from a single male specimen, with 145 dorsal scale rows at mid body. The specimen is green with dark spots and an orange head; since it is preserved in alcohol it was most likely more strikingly coloured in life.

The head of Plica medemi in dorsal view. Murphy & Jowers (2014).

The final new species described is named Plica rayi, in honour of Ray Pawley the former Curator of Reptiles at Brookfield Zoo, for his lifelong work with Reptiles and Amphibians. This species has 182-202 dorsal scale rows at mid body (considerably more than any other member of the group. The Lizards are a dark brown colour with black and white markings, the males develop red or orange markings on their faces in the breeding season. The species is known from colonies at two sites on the Orinoco River, at Puerto Ayacucho in Venezuela and at Puerto Carreno in Colombia, and has been seen at other sites along the river. The species is found in granitic rainforests (i.e. rainforests standing on granite-derived soils), and favours rocky areas. The breeding season is in May.

Plica rayi. A male in breeding coloration. Photographed at Tobogan de la Selva, Puerto Ayacucho. Zelimir Cernelic in Murphy & Jowers (2014).

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Four new species of Forest Gecko from West and Central Africa.

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