China: Researchers discover new mountain lizard species Diploderma bifluviale in Sichuan

The Diploderma bifluviale lizard. PIC COURTESY/Bo Cai

Chinese researchers have identified a new species of mountain lizard from the upper Dadu River Valley, a rugged region of deep gorges and high peaks in the Hengduan Mountains of western Sichuan.

Beginning in 2018, the team carried out extensive surveys in the upper Dadu River region. During these expeditions, they discovered a lizard that displayed distinct traits not seen in other Diploderma species from the area.

Using both molecular biology techniques and detailed morphological comparisons, the scientists confirmed it was an undescribed species. They named it Diploderma bifluviale, after the site of its discovery at the meeting point of the Chuosijia and Jiaomuzu rivers. Diploderma bifluviale is now recognised as the 47th Diploderma species in China.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever