‘Long’-tailed creature found hiding in fallen log at night. It’s a new species
As night settled over a forest in Malaysia, a “long”-tailed creature emerged from its hiding place. Its “large” mosaic-like eyes scanned the dark landscape, but it wasn’t the only one looking around.
Passing scientists found the lurking animal — and discovered a new species.
A team of researchers hiked into the forests of Thailand and Malaysia over several years to document the rich biodiversity, according to a study published June 12 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys.
During their visits, researchers found dozens of lizards with various white-striped patterns, the study said. Initially, the team identified the lizards as a known species of gecko found on some Malaysian islands — until they looked closer.
The mainland geckos had subtle but significant differences in appearance and DNA when compared to the island geckos, the study said. Researchers realized they’d discovered a new species: Cyrtodactylus peninsularis, or the peninsula bent-toed gecko.
Peninsula bent-toed geckos have “long” bodies and “long” tails, reaching over 10 inches in length overall, the study said. Their heads are “triangular” and “somewhat flattened” with “large” eyes. Their fingers and toes are “bent” and have “well-developed” claws.
Photos show the “extremely variable” pattern of the new species, which “essentially defies a concise meaningful description.”
Peninsula bent-toed geckos generally have white stripes criss-crossing their bodies and forming a network-like pattern on their heads. Some geckos have yellow-ish markings. Overall, their colors vary from light brown to dark brown to reddish brown to almost black, photos show.
Peninsula bent-toed geckos are nocturnal, climbing lizards, the study said. They are “relatively common” and live in forests at elevations of up to about 2,600 feet. They were “usually seen climbing on tree trunks, branches, exposed roots, and fallen logs where there are nearby crevices and holes into which they can quickly retreat when threatened.”
Researchers sometimes found several lizards “on the same large tree” at heights of up to 16 feet off the ground, the study said.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin word for peninsula because it is found on “the Thai-Malay Peninsula of southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore.”
The new species was identified by its DNA, body proportions, size, scale pattern, texture, pores and other subtle physical features, the study said.
The research team included L. Lee Grismer, Amanda Kaatz, Jesse Grismer, Eddie Nguyen, Jeren Gregory, Perry Wood Jr., Matthew Murdoch, Shahrul Anuar, Chan Kin Onn, Muhamad Muin, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Chatmongkon Suwannapoom, Nikolay Poyarkov and Evan Quah.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 2:35 PM with the headline "‘Long’-tailed creature found hiding in fallen log at night. It’s a new species."
