New Lizard Discovered in Cuba
Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 11th, 2009
A new species of lizard was recently discovered in the Cuban Varahicacos Ecological Reserve, located in Matanzas province.
The reptile, found in the bushes and forest of the protected park was registered with the name of Aristelliger reyesi, in recognition of Ernesto Reyes, one of its discoverers, reported Juventud Rebelde.
The finding shows that Cuba’s biodiversity still holds surprises, for that reason inventories and biological monitoring actions should be further facilitated, said Luis M. Diaz, researcher with Cuba’s National Museum of Natural History.
Morphological and genetic studies in comparison with other specimens confirm that the lizard belongs to a species that is closely related with the Aristelliger cochranae (from Navassa Island) and with the Aristelliger expectatus (from La Española), explained Diaz.
The Aristelliger is represented by seven Caribbean species and its closest relatives come from Africa, which means that its origin could be very ancient.
The Aristelliger reyesi grows up to 13 centimeters long and the males are larger than the females. The head is crossed by a black stripe that reaches the forelegs. (RHC-ACN)
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About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
