Dwarf dragons live among the cloud forests of South America, and three new species of the animals have been discovered in the Andes Mountains of Peru and Ecuador.
Enyalioides altotambo, Enyalioides sophiarothschildae and Enyalioides anisolepis each belong to the same genus, but they differ from their relatives in the coloration and arrangement of their scales. Analysis of the genetic codes of the animals confirms the creatures are a species that were previously unknown to biologists.
Just six species of woodlizards were known in 2006, but that number has doubled in the last few years. The new species were discovered in the tropical Andes, an area rich in plant and animal life. The creatures are brightly colored and easy to spot in the forest. This has led some biologists to question how the discovery of some of South America's largest and most brightly colored lizards took so long to find.
"During the last few years we doubled the number of known species of woodlizards, showing that the diversity of these conspicuous reptiles had been underestimated. That more than half of the diversity of a group of large, dragon-looking reptiles from South America has been discovered in recent years should be heard by people in charge of conservation and funding agencies," said Omar Torres-Carvajal from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Following a series of excursions to discover new forms of woodlizards, biologists currently know of 15 species of the animals.
"Woodlizards are fairly large and conspicuous, so it's interesting that roughly half of the currently recognized species have been discovered in the last 10 years. This illustrates how much we still have to learn about South American reptiles," Torres-Carvajal's supervisor, Kevin de Queiroz, said.
Enyalioides altotambo, also known as the Alto Tambo woodlizard, was named after the small village in northwestern Ecuador and was the first of the three new species discovered. While the females resemble chameleons, the males look more like young iguanas.
Resembling a typical mythological dragon, E. anisolepis has been found in black, burnt orange and bright green varieties.
The Rothschild's woodlizard, also known as sophiarothschildae, are distinguished by slender black and brown bodies marked by white scales under their chins. They were the last of the three species discovered in the latest findings.
Dwarf dragons were thought to be one of the least diverse of all groups of animals just eight years ago, before discoveries led to a better understanding of the unusual creatures. Like humans, the animals are active during the day and sleep at night.
Discovery of the three new species of dwarf dragons was detailed in the journal ZooKeys.
