Pictures: 24 New Caribbean Lizards Found

Carrot Rock Skink

Photograph courtesy Alejandro Sanchez

The newfound carrot rock skink (pictured) is unusual among skinks in that it's virtually devoid of spots, stripes, or other patterns, Hedges said.

Living in a three-acre (one-hectare) habitat in the British Virgin Islands (map), the species should be listed as endangered due to human development and predation by the black rat, according to the study team.

(Also see "Rat Invasions Causing Seabird Decline Worldwide.")

Published May 3, 2012

Caicos Coastline

Photograph from Tips Images/Alamy

The new skinks come from across the Caribbean, including the Turks and Caicos Islands (pictured: Middle Caicos Island).

The forest-dwelling skinks' decline is largely due to "extreme" habitat loss throughout the Caribbean, the study team says. Barbados and Haiti, for example, each have only one percent of their original forest cover.

"Once the forest goes, most of the species living in it go," Hedges said.

Because many skink species had largely disappeared from the Caribbean by the early 1900s, few scientists had encountered the reptiles and so didn't think to go looking for new ones, he added.

(See more Caribbean pictures.)

Published May 3, 2012

Jamaican Skink

Photograph courtesy Joseph Burgess

Based on museum records, the study team found that the Jamaican skink (pictured) was once all over its namesake island, Hedges said. But "the mongoose preys on it, and it is almost extinct, known only from a small area near Kingston, [which is] basically its last holdout."

The species has a slender body and long digits with well-developed claws, which help it climb trees—an unusual trait among skinks.

Caribbean skinks in general are odd, Hedges added, in that many species carry their young for 9 to 12 months. Most other reptiles lay eggs after a gestation period of 1 to 2 months.

(Related: "Evolution in Action: Lizard Moving From Eggs to Live Birth.")

Published May 3, 2012

Dominica Skink

Photograph courtesy Alejandro Sanchez

The Dominica skink (pictured) lives on its namesake island, which is so far mongoose free. Even so, the scientists propose this species be listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

"The mongoose occurs on islands immediately to the north and south, and this [skink] species could disappear in a few years if the mongoose ever gets to Dominica," Hedges said.

(See "Attack of the Alien Invaders.")

Published May 3, 2012

Caicos Islands Skink

Photograph courtesy Joseph Burgess

A relatively small species at about 5.5 inches (14 centimeters) long, the Caicos Islands skink scampers along rocks on several islands in the Caicos chain.

Though these islands also lack mongooses, the reptile—which the team says should be considered vulnerable—still faces threats from predation and habitat loss, Hedges said.

(See "Lizards Evolving Rapidly to Survive Deadly Fire Ants.")

Published May 3, 2012

More New Species Photos: "Elvis Monkey," Cloning Lizard >>

Illustration courtesy Martin Aveling, FFI via WWF

Published May 3, 2012