Researchers identify 35 new lizard species on Caribbean islands

A new scientific study from Temple University’s College of Science and Technology (CST) has identified 35 new species of forest lizards, all from islands in the Caribbean. However, that same study has also found that these species of lizards won’t be around for long unless significant conservation efforts are undertaken to protect them.

Recently published in the scholarly journal Zootaxa, “A new forest lizard fauna from Caribbean islands (Squamata, Diploglossidae, Celestinae)” defines 17 new species, elevates 17 subspecies and elevates one species from synonymy, ultimately resulting in 35 newly recognized species of forest lizards. The study was co-authored by S. Blair Hedges, the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Biodiversity and director of the Center for Biodiversity at CST, and Molly Schools, who earned her Ph.D. in 2023.

“This work reveals a fascinating diversity of species on Caribbean islands that we didn’t know existed before this study. That is the first step, and next is finding how to keep these species from going extinct,” said Hedges about the study.

In completing the 306-page study, Hedges and Schools took part in field and laboratory work, examining 958 museum specimens and conducting molecular analyses of their evolutionary relationships. As part of this process, they reviewed 200-year-old museum specimens of species that are likely already extinct.

Securing the specimens for analysis was no small task. As noted, many of these species had not been seen for more than two centuries. Hedges and Schools were fortunate to secure small tissue samples from preserved specimens in museums in London, Paris and at Harvard, which were then used for DNA analysis. Then, through this process, they were able to place them in the tree of living species.

“When the results came back, I was ecstatic,” Hedges said. “The ancient DNA sequence placed these species in the tree of life when other methods could not for the last 200 years.”

The duo then used the Red List method, a process for classifying species or ecosystems that are at risk of extinction or other harm, to determine the conservation status of each species. They found that more than half (54%) of the Caribbean forest lizard species they discovered are threatened with extinction, which compares to an average rate of 21% for all reptiles around the globe. Fourteen of the species they discovered are critically endangered, which is the highest category of threat, and three of the species they discovered may already be extinct.

According to the researchers, there are a combination of factors that are impacting the life cycles of the lizards.

“Primary forests are disappearing rapidly on Caribbean islands,” Schools said, “And species like these forest lizards are suffering because their habitat is not only shrinking, they are also preyed upon by introduced predators such as the mongoose from Asia.”

Included among the newly discovered lizard species was one found near Goldeneye, Jamaica, which happens to be the location of the former estate of Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond series of books, later adapted into movies. Fleming took that fictitious name from a Philadelphia scientist and author of a book on his bookshelf at that time (1952), Birds of the West Indies by James Bond.

The lizard, common and abundant, was fittingly named—scientifically—after James Bond and given the common name the James Bond Forest Lizard.

Moving forward, the study can be used to inform future studies, and it also should encourage scientists and researchers to prioritize the health and survival of forest lizard populations.

“This work will also provide future researchers with a systematic framework to explore ecological, evolutionary and biogeographic questions concerning Caribbean celestine species that otherwise would not have been possible to ask,” the two write in the research article.

“All species should be monitored for threats to their survival, including those that are now deemed Least Concern. We believe that this work provides further evidence that the fauna of the Caribbean islands is unique, fragile and understudied and remains threatened by continued disturbance of habitats, including deforestation and predation from introduced mammals.”