A Newly Discovered Iguana in Asia’s Reptile Realm

An iguana has become part of Asia’s diverse reptile population, officially documented as a newly discovered species in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

From 2009 to 2022, we conducted a series of field surveys in South China and collected a number of specimens of the Calotes versicolor species complex, and found that the population of what we thought was Calotes versicolor in South China and Northern Vietnam was a new undescribed species and two subspecies.”

Yong Huang, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine

Huang’s team explained the new species.

The Wang’s garden lizard (Calotes wangi) measures under 9 cm in length, with one of its notable characteristics being its orange-colored tongue.

Calotes wangi is found in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests and tropical monsoon forests in southern China and northern Vietnam, mostly in mountainous areas, hills and plains on forest edges, arable land, shrub lands, and even urban green belts.”

Yong Huang, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine

Huang added, “It is active at the edge of the forest, and when it is in danger, it rushes into bushes or climbs tree trunks to hide. Investigations found that the lizards lie on sloping shrub branches at night, sleeping close to the branches.”

Active between April and October, this species extends its activity period in tropical regions from March to November or beyond. It sustains itself by consuming a diverse diet of insects, spiders, and other arthropods. Presently, researchers suggest that the newfound species is not facing immediate threats, although they acknowledge the potential impact of habitat fragmentation in certain areas.

“In addition, their bodies are used medicinally and the lizards are also eaten,” they write in their research paper.

Therefore, they recommend that the local government enhance the safeguarding of the ecological environment and closely monitor population dynamics.