‘Large’ creature with ‘lemon yellow’ belly found on tree trunk. It’s a new species

On a small island of Papua New Guinea, a “fairly large” creature perched on a tree trunk. Its brown speckled body seemed to blend in — but not well enough.

Passing scientists spotted the “robust” animal and discovered a new species.

Researchers visited Crown Island in 2018 as part of a multi-stop wildlife survey , according to a study published Oct. 16 in the peer-reviewed journal Systematics and Biodiversity. During their nighttime surveys, they came across a few “unusual” lizards.

Intrigued, researchers took a closer look at the lizards, analyzed their DNA and quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Gehyra corona, or the Crown Island four-clawed gecko.

Crown Island four-clawed geckos are considered “intermediately sized,” but one “fairly large” male gecko reached just over 7 inches in length, the study said. Generally, the new species has a “robust” body with a “long” head, “lemon yellow” belly and “broad pads” on its toes.

Male and females of the new species vary in color, “a rare feature within geckos,” researchers said.

Male Crown Island four-clawed geckos are “boldly” patterned with dark brown speckles on a pale gray background, the study said. A photo shows this blotchy coloring.

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Female geckos are more muted with a relatively uniform light brown hue, photos show. A few creamy blotches dot their tails.

Crown Island four-clawed geckos were found at night on tree trunks in a low-elevation forest, the study said.

Researchers said they named the new species “corona,” the Latin word for “crown,” after Crown Island where it was discovered and, so far, the only place it has been found. Crown Island is a small volcanic island off the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea.

The new species was identified by its DNA, toes, body shape, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said.

The research team included Fred Kraus, Varpu Vahtera and Valter Weijola.

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