‘Slender’ creature — ‘sensitive to flashlights’ — discovered as new species in Nepal
As night fell across Nepal, a “slender” creature with “long” limbs emerged from its hiding place and climbed along a roadside wall. A bright light suddenly moved toward the scaly animal, disturbing it.
Scientists looked at the “very sensitive” animal caught in their flashlight beam — and discovered a new species.
A team of researchers ventured into the mountains of central Nepal in 2023 for a six-month project to survey wildlife. The country is “rich” in biodiversity but remains largely understudied because of its “challenging terrain and a sparse road network,” according to a study published March 3 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
During the project, the team visited the Annapurna Conservation Area and conducted nighttime searches for lizards, the study said. Sure enough, they encountered several blotchy and unfamiliar-looking lizards.
Researchers took a closer look at the lizards, analyzed their DNA and quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Cyrtodactylus annapurnaensis, or the ACAP bent-toed gecko.
ACAP bent-toed geckos are considered “small-sized,” reaching just over 5 inches in length, the study said. They have “slender” bodies, “short” heads and “slightly long” limbs. Their fingers and toes are “long” with “a strong, recurved claw.” Their “small” eyes are “green-grey” with a vertical, wavy-edged pupil.
Photos show the brown blotchy pattern of the new species. Overall, its coloring is a mix of light brown, dark brown and cream patches with a striped tail.
ACAP bent-toed geckos were found at night “on roadside walls and along stone wall fences,” near a suspension bridge, on rock walls and on plants near a “drainage channel,” the study said. The geckos were often found during drizzly, “rainy or foggy weather” and “very sensitive to flashlights.”
Researchers said they named the new species after the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) where the new species was first discovered. The region is “the largest Protected Area in Nepal” and began in 1986 as a “community conservation” project.
So far, ACAP bent-toed geckos have been found around three villages in the conservation area, which is in central Nepal and near the border with Tibet, a disputed region controlled by China, the study said.
The new species was identified by its glands, body size, scale pattern and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 11% genetic divergence from other related gecko species.
The research team included Santosh Bhattarai, Bivek Gautam, Bishal Prasad Neupane, Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray, Ishan Agarwal, Frank Tillack, Ashley Olson, Fiona Hogan and Wendy Wright.
The team also discovered two more new species: the Chitwan bent-toed gecko and Karan’s bent-toed gecko.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 1:14 PM with the headline "‘Slender’ creature — ‘sensitive to flashlights’ — discovered as new species in Nepal."
