Herp Discoveries

Discoveries of new small species are fairly common (despite any media pronouncements to the contrary), but it is still interesting to see what's being collected. Chris Austin of the Louisiana State University's Museum of Natural Science and colleagues discovered a skink in Borneo that is awaiting description in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of Herpetology. From the press release:

"'We actually found four specimens at once,' said Austin. 'One of the best methods for finding lizards in the rainforest is to look under logs. We found two individuals of the new species under one log and two more under another.' With more than 15 years of fieldwork experience behind him, Austin knew immediately that he had found a new species. After collecting the lizards, he and Das began the difficult work of proving what they already knew.
"'Determining that a species is new to science is a long and laborious process,' said Austin. "'Natural history museums and their invaluable collections are critical in that they allow scientists to examine known biodiversity in order to determine a species is new.' He and Das examined specimens from a slew of museums around the world.
"Natural history collections, such as the more than 80,000 specimens in the LSUMNS reptile and amphibian collection, are important because taxonomy – the science of describing, naming and classifying organisms – has implications for basic and applied fields of science. 'We can't conserve what we don't know we have. It is imperative that we know what species exist in order to preserve them for future generations,' said Austin.
"He used the cutting-edge molecular genetics lab at the LSUMNS to decipher the genetic code of the lizards. 'We sequenced the DNA of this new species and several other closely related species in order to help our diagnosis,' he said. 'Using DNA to help describe new species is becoming one of the most important tools for scientists to use in documenting and describing biodiversity.' The global decline of biodiversity has become a major public issue recently, and the use of modern molecular methods is proving to be fundamental in gaining a better understanding of the situation." ...
"Austin spent the entire summer of 2006 in New Guinea, his geographical area of expertise, conducting fieldwork with graduate students. He is currently working on research funded by the National Science Foundation to understand why New Guinea, called a megadiverse region, has such a high level of biodiversity.
"'While we were there, we collected what we think is a new species of snake, a new species of lizard and probably two or three new species of frogs,' he said. 'But the process of certifying a new species takes so long that it will be awhile before we're certain.'"