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New Tiny Gecko Species Named After Vincent Van Gogh

Scientists have discovered a new species of gecko named for post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. A team of scientists from the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation were exploring the Southern Western Ghats in southern India when they came across this unusual lizard. The back of Cnemaspis vangoghi reminded them of one of the world's most famous paintings. The new species is described in a study published March 27 in the journal ZooKeys. 

"Cnemaspis vangoghi is named for Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) as the striking colouration of the new species is reminiscent of one of his most iconic paintings, The Starry Night," study co-author and biologist Ishan Agarwal said in a statement. 

The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. The Dutch post-impressionist painted it in June 1889. CREDIT: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

The males of this species boast a yellow head and forebody, with light blue spots on their back. They live among the rocks in this mountainous and rainforest covered region and occasionally are found on buildings and trees. Scientists don't currently know what Cnemaspis vangoghi eats, but other geckos eat crickets, earthworms, waxworms, mealworms, moths, fruit flies, or grasshoppers. Some geckos will also eat fruit, including papaya, pineapple, and grapes. 

[Related: This tiny robot grips like a gecko and scoots like an inchworm.]

Genetic sequencing helped the team determine that this is a new species of gecko. There are roughly 1,500 known gecko species around the world. These lizards are found on every continent except for Antarctica, but are especially prevalent in warmer climates. Ishan Agarwal and colleagues Akshay Khandekar and Tejas Thackeray found the new species during an April 2022 expedition in Tamil Nadu, India. 

Cnemaspis vangoghi can mostly be found among rocks and is one one to two inches long. CREDIT: Akshay Khandekar.

"Tamil Nadu is an exceptionally biodiverse state and we expect to name well over 50 new species of lizards by the time we are done [with our expeditions]!," said Agarwal. "I also had more than 500 tick bites during that summer trip, with the highest densities in the low-elevation, dry forests of Srivilliputhur, where the new species are found."

Cnemaspis vangoghi is a small gecko that can get up to only one to two inches in length. The largest known gecko in the world is the New Caledonian gecko. They are exclusively found on the islands of New Caledonia in the South Pacific and can grow up to 14 inches long. 

[Related: This 6-inch-long Jurassic creature does a great lizard impersonation.]

Cnemaspis vangoghi was described as new to science with another species in the same genus named Cnemaspis sathuragiriensis. This other gecko is named for its locality the Sathuragiri Hills.

Scientists also discovered another gecko named Cnemaspis sathuragiriensis. CREDIT: Akshay Khandekar.

"The two new species are distributed in low elevation [820 to 1,312 feet], deciduous forests of Srivilliputhur, and add to the five previously known endemic vertebrates from Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India," said Agarwal.

Both species are also diurnal, meaning they are primarily active during the cool hours in the early morning. They have only been found in very restricted locations, which makes them an  "an interesting case of micro-endemism in low-elevation species," according to Agarwal. 

Scientists Discover Nightmarish New Species Of Marine Lizard With Dagger-Like Teeth

Researchers have discovered a new species of marine lizard, Khinjaria acuta, from the late Cretaceous period, showcasing the diversity of marine ecosystems before the dinosaur extinction. This species, part of the mosasaur family, highlights a time when the oceans teemed with a variety of giant predators, unlike today's ecosystems dominated by a few apex predators. Credit: Andrey Atuchin

Sixty-six million years ago, the oceans were full of large apex predators, unlike now.

Paleontologists have discovered a strange new species of marine lizard with dagger-like teeth that lived near the end of the age of dinosaurs. Their findings, published in Cretaceous Research, show a dramatically different ocean ecosystem to what we see today, with numerous giant top predators eating large prey, unlike modern ecosystems where a few apex predators – such as great white sharks, orca, and leopard seals – dominate.

Khinjaria acuta was a member of the family Mosasauridae, or mosasaurs. Mosasaurs weren't dinosaurs, but giant marine lizards, relatives of today's Komodo dragons and anacondas, which ruled the oceans 66 million years ago, during the era of Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops.

Khinjaria had powerful jaws and long, dagger-like teeth to seize prey, giving it a nightmarish appearance. It was part of an extraordinarily diverse fauna of predators that inhabited the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco, just before the dinosaurs went extinct.

International Collaboration and Diverse Predator Fauna

The study is based on a skull and parts of the skeleton collected from a phosphate mine southeast of Casablanca. The study involved researchers from the University of Bath in the UK, the Marrakech Museum of Natural History, the Museum National d' Histoire Naturelle (NMNH) in Paris (France), Southern Methodist University in Texas (USA), and the University of the Basque Country (Bilbao).

Fossil of Khinjaria acuta skull. Credit: University of Bath

"What's remarkable here is the sheer diversity of top predators," said Dr Nick Longrich of the Department of Life Sciences and the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, who led the study. "We have multiple species growing larger than a great white shark, and they're top predators, but they all have different teeth, suggesting they're hunting in different ways.

"Some mosasaurs had teeth to pierce prey, others to cut, tear, or crush. Now we have Khinjaria, with a short face full of huge, dagger-shaped teeth. This is one of the most diverse marine faunas seen anywhere, at any time in history, and it existed just before the marine reptiles and the dinosaurs went extinct."

A Rich, Pre-Extinction Ecosystem

Morocco's diverse marine reptiles lived just before an asteroid struck the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Dust and fine particles shot into the high atmosphere blocked out the sun for months, causing darkness and cooling, which drove most of the planet's species to extinction.

Dinosaurs were wiped out on land, and a handful of surviving species of mammals, birds, and lizards diversified to take their place. Meanwhile, the same happened in the oceans.

Khinjaria acuta skull reconstruction. Credit: Dr Nick Longrich

Mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and giant sea turtles disappeared, along with entire families of fish. This opened the way for whales and seals, and fish like swordfish and tuna appeared. However, the ecosystem that evolved after the impact was different.

"There seems to have been a huge change in the ecosystem structure in the past 66 million years," said Longrich. "This incredible diversity of top predators in the Late Cretaceous is unusual, and we don't see that in modern marine communities."

Modern marine food chains have just a few large apex predators, animals like orcas, white sharks, and leopard seals. The Cretaceous had a whole host of top predators.

Comparing Ancient and Modern Marine Ecosystems

Dr Longrich said: "It's not just that we're getting rid of the old actors and recasting new ones into the same roles. The story has changed dramatically.

"Modern ecosystems have predators like baleen whales and dolphins that eat small prey, and not many things eating large prey. The Cretaceous has a huge number of marine reptile species that take large prey. Whether there's something about marine reptiles that caused the ecosystem to be different, or the prey, or perhaps the environment, we don't know. But this was an incredibly dangerous time to be a fish, a sea turtle, or even a marine reptile."

Professor Nathalie Bardet, from the NMNH, said: "The Phosphates of Morocco deposit in a shallow and warm epicontinental sea, under a system of upwellings; these zones are caused by currents of deep, cold, nutrient-rich waters rising towards the surface, providing food for large numbers of sea creatures and, as a result, supporting a lot of predators. This is probably one of the explanations for this extraordinary paleobiodiversity observed in Morocco at the end of the Cretaceous."

"The phosphates of Morocco immerse us in the Upper Cretaceous seas during the latest geological times of the dinosaurs' age. No deposit has provided so many fossils and so many species from this period", said Professor NE. Jalil of NMNH. "After the' titan of the seas', Thalassotitan, the 'saw-toothed' mosasaur Xenodens, the 'star-toothed' mosasaur, Stelladens, and many others, now there is Khinjaria, a new mosasaur with dagger-like teeth.

"The elongation of the posterior part of the skull which accommodated the jaw musculature suggests a terrible biting force."

Reference: "A bizarre new plioplatecarpine mosasaurid from the Maastrichtian of Morocco" by Nicholas R. Longrich, Michael J. Polcyn, Nour-Eddine Jalil, Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola and Nathalie Bardet, 1 March 2024, Cretaceous Research.DOI: 10.1016/j.Cretres.2024.105870

Funding: Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, European Regional Development Fund, Eusko Jaurlaritza, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

Watch Out! Gator Mating Season Is Approaching, Which Means More Aggressive Large Reptiles

FLORIDA – We all know living in Florida means living with alligators. On Monday, a new month starts and that means you could start seeing more of them, according to News 6 partner News4JAX.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says alligator mating happens in May or June and they can get more aggressive during that time frame.

So, it's a wise idea to keep an extra eye out. The most recent data from FWC goes up until Dec. 20-22, but since 1948 it has recorded over 450 alligator attacks. Nearly 30 people have been killed.

Of the deadly attacks, over half of them occurred during breeding or nesting season, which is why FWC wants you to be careful and follow the law.

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Do not feed alligators. It is dangerous and illegal in Florida.

Keep your children and pets away from the water.

If you see a sign that says 'don't swim,' it may be because alligators are around.

Listen. If you see a baby alligator, know the mother is close by. If you're concerned about an alligator, you can call FWC's toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286. FWC will dispatch an alligator trapper to catch it.

And it's not just the alligators.

Snake mating season happens during the spring in Florida and experts say some breeds hit their peak in April. Florida is home to six venomous snake species.

If you see one, the important thing is to remain calm, but knowing which ones can be deadly is key. Click here to see the six venomous snakes in Florida.

You can listen to every episode of Florida's Fourth Estate in the media player below:

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