New lizard species found in the Dominican Republic

Hidden in plain sight in the middle of the most highly trafficked island in the Caribbean, a new type of chameleon-like lizard has become the first new species of anole found in the Dominican Republic in decades, researchers from the University of Toronto revealed on Friday.

The new species, which was dubbed Anolis landestoyi in honor of the research who first saw and snapped a photograph of this particular Greater Antillean anole, could help explain why different islands are home to different but similar-looking groups of lizards, the researchers explained.

Many types of Greater Antillean anoles have counterparts on other islands, Luke Mahler of the university’s Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and the lead author of a new study (published in the journal The American Naturalist) detailing the findings, said in a press release.

This phenomenon is known as replicated adaptive radiation, and occurs when related types of creatures evolving on different islands diversify into similar sets of species occupying the same ecological niches, the researchers said. Most Greater Antillean anoles have close matches living on other Caribbean islands, but as many as one-fifth of them do not.

One species believed to have been an exception to this rule was the Cuban anole, a member of the Chamaeleolis group. Scientists had thought that these large, slow-moving creatures, which more closely resemble chameleons that typical anoles, were unique to Cuba. The discovery of the Anolis landestoyi suggests otherwise.

Discovery could shine a light on conservation issues in the region

Despite living in the Dominican Republic, the Anolis landestoyi is “ecomorphologically similar” to the Cuban anole, the study authors wrote. Both types of lizards have short limbs and tails, and both appear to favor relatively narrow perches, strengthening the longstanding theory that lizard communities can evolve to be nearly identical, despite living on different islands.

The new species was originally spotted by local Dominican naturalist Miguel Landestoy, who contacted Mahler on multiple occasions with images of increasing quality showing the species. After receiving one particular batch, Mahler said, “I thought, ‘I need to buy a plane ticket.’”

“Our immediate thought was that this looks like something that’s supposed to be in Cuba, not in Hispaniola — the island that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share. We haven’t really seen any completely new species here since the early 1980s,” he added. “Like the discovery of a missing puzzle piece, Anolis landestoyi clarifies our view of replicated adaptive radiation in anoles.”

Mahler said that the new discovery supports the belief that island-based ecosystems evolve in a surprisingly predictable way, but unfortunately, the news isn’t all good. The Anolis landestoyi is already an at-risk species, as illegal deforestation has forced the creature to a tiny habitat in one little area in the western Dominican Republic. Mahler is hopeful that the discovery of the species will help shed new light on the conversation issues facing this part of the world.

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Image credit: University of Toronto

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