Desert creature with ‘ambush’ hunting style found in Australia. It’s a new species

Under the cover of night, a “robust” creature with a distinctive hunting style took up its rocky perch in a desert of Australia. Its “large” eyes scanned the surrounding landscape — but it wasn’t the only one searching.

Visiting scientists found the spotted animal. It turned out to be a new species.

The team of researchers ventured into several remote mountain ranges in central Australia to search for lizards, according to a study published Oct. 3 in the peer-reviewed journal Vertebrate Zoology. They suspected a known species of gecko with three “isolated populations” was actually several different species grouped together.

To investigate, researchers tracked down several geckos from each population, analyzed their DNA and scrutinized their physical features, the study said. A pattern began to emerge. The lizards from the MacDonnell mountains were subtly but distinctly different.

Researchers soon realized they’d discovered a new species: Diplodactylus tjoritjarinya, or the Tjoritja gecko.

Tjoritja geckos are considered “medium-sized,” reaching just over 3 inches in length, the study said. They have “robust” bodies with “short” and “thick” tails. Their “wide” heads have “large” brown eyes and “relatively small” ear openings.

Photos show the pale pinkish cream coloring of the new species. Several tan blotches run down its back, and its sides have a scattering of small white spots.

Tjoritja geckos live in rocky desert areas with sparse vegetation, “low rolling hills, stony flats and rugged mountain ranges,” the study said. The geckos were seen “emerging from small invertebrate burrows at dusk and have also been found sheltering underneath small rocks during the day in cool weather.”

Often, researchers found Tjoritja geckos perched on small rocks “rather than actively foraging, suggesting an ambush predation.”

Ambush predators, also known as “ sit-and-wait predators ,” rely on “stealth or surprise” to capture their prey, according to a biology textbook shared via LibreTexts. They typically sit in a “concealed position” and strike when they spot a meal.

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Researchers said they named the new species Tjoritja, pronounced “choor-it-ja,” after the indigenous Aranda people’s name for the MacDonnell mountain range. “This name respects that Tjoritja is a living cultural landscape to which this gecko belongs and was suggested as a name for this gecko by the Traditional Owners of Tjoritja National Park.”

So far, Tjoritja geckos have only been within the MacDonnell Ranges, a mountain range near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and a roughly 1,800-mile drive northwest of Sydney, the study said.

The new species was identified by its DNA, ear openings, coloring, pattern and other subtle physical features, the study said.

The research team included Peter McDonald, Aaron Fenner, Janne Torkkola and Paul Oliver.

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