New Guinea is popular for its rich geological history. As a proof, a team of Australian scientists found two new giant bent-toed Gecko species. The team revealed that the two new species, whose names mean "Knight" and "King", belong to the world's most diverse gecko genus Cyrtodactylus, one of the world's most diverse species found in Australia and Asia.
The researchers, led by Dr. Paul Oliver from the Australian National University, published their findings in the journal Zookeys. The genus where the two species belong to, comprises more than 200 gecko species. All of them vary greatly in build, size and color and they are widely popular as bent-toed or bow-fingered geckos mainly because of their slender and curved toes.
One of the newly-discovered species, "King" or Cyrtodactylus rex, is the largest species included in the genus. The gecko is among the biggest ones in the world. It can grow to about 17 centimeters and females are often a little bigger than males. This gecko is distinguishable through its upper body having dark grey brown and medium brown with four or five dark brown blotches.
"Knight" or Cyrtodactyulus equestris, on the other hand, can grow up to 14 centimeters in females with a large neck and head. Its upper body has alternating areas of medium and light brown. The King species live in the lowlands while the Knight species live in undisturbed hills of northern New Guinea.
New Guinea is known for its remote location rich in still unexplored forests and resources. In the '90s, some areas of the country were ravaged by habitat destruction. In 2015, a team of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) experts found that the islands are actually home to many animals, a few might be new species.
The expedition unveils new species of frogs, bats, lizards and plants. One of the species they discovered is a new gecko belonging to the Gehyra species. This huge gecko grew to about 14 centimeters and had large pads on its fingers and toes.
"The species is extremely shy, perching for long periods in shady streamside vegetation and taking flight only when disturbed. It is almost certainly endemic to Manus island," Dr Richard Cuthbert, WCS Papua New Guinea director, said.
