According to news from the Fusion Media Center of Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province on July 28, a research team from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a new species of lizard in Maguan County - Zhaolong lizard.
It is reported that the research results related to "Zhaolonglili Lizard" were recently published in the international journal "Animal Taxonomy". Wang Wei, an assistant researcher at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Li Ling, a doctoral candidate at Yunnan University, are the co-first authors of the article. Chinese Academy of Sciences Che Jing, a researcher at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, is the corresponding author of the article.
According to reports, the genus tropidophorus belongs to the reptilian squamous suborder Skinkidae. It is a type of small and medium-sized semi-aquatic skinks, mainly distributed in Southeast Asia. Only 4 species have been recorded in my country, mainly distributed in South China. and the Southwest. Among them, only the Burmese lizard T. berdmorei has been recorded in Yunnan Province.
It is understood that when researchers from the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted field surveys this year, they collected two large-scale lizards from the low-altitude karst jungle in Wenshan Prefecture. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA fragments, the lizards collected in Wenshan Prefecture are most closely related to the Hainan lizards in my country and the Basin lizards in northern Vietnam, but the genetic differentiation is greater; later morphological studies found that the lizards in Wenshan Prefecture were smaller in size. It is large, has smooth head scales and strongly ridged scales on the back of the body, has complete frontonasal scales, and has a yellow body belly in males. It can be effectively distinguished from the above-mentioned known species and other species of this genus. Combining the above two types of data, the research team named the lizard discovered in Wenshan Prefecture as a new species, tropidophorus vongx.
▲A living photo of the type specimen of Zhaolonglili Lizard. a, b show the male holotype; c, d show the female accessory type. (Photo released by Wenshan)
The Latin name "vongx" of the new species of dragon-edge lizard comes from the word "dragon" in the Miao language. Firstly, because the new species looks like a smaller version of "dragon", and secondly, it is to commemorate The most grand traditional festival of the local minority Miao people - the Dragon Calling Festival. Because the main habitat of this new species is also a gathering place for the Miao people in Wenshan, the research team named the new species Zhaolongling lizard to express respect for the local ethnic minority's lifestyle of reverence for nature and coexist in harmony with nature.
According to reports, the lizard lives in low-altitude tropical rainforests with karst landforms, and its flat body helps it hide in narrow stone crevices. The discovery of this new species, the Zhaolonglili lizard, reveals the importance of karst landforms in tropical and subtropical areas for biodiversity conservation, and also highlights the important ecological value of nature reserves in southern Yunnan Province.
Red Star News reporter Luo Min
editor Yang Fangyi editor-in-chief Guan Li
