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Lake Disappointment dragon lizard new to science

Monday, May 21, 2007

Western Australian Museum biologists have identified a new species of dragon lizard living in a remote part of North Central Western Australia. The newly named Ctenophorus nguyarna lives in the shrubbery at the edge of Lake Disappointment, a massive salt lake basin that lies along the Canning Stock Route.

Named after the Indigenous word for the lake, the dragon is the fifth new species to be identified by WA Museum herpetologists Paul Doughty and Brad Maryan within a matter of months. International scientific journal Herpetologica published the discovery of the dragon lizard yesterday.

Dr Doughty said the lizard appeared to be the dominant species at the lake.

“These lizards are fringe dwellers - they live in burrows underneath shrubs and when hunting, they sit on top of the shrubs and watch for insects on the lake, dashing out when they see one,” he said. The dragons are distinct for their extended combs or “eyelashes,” which protect the reptiles’ eyes from the lake’s glare. Males can also raise a crest that runs along their backs. “Other distinguishing marks are the shape of its head, its scales and the vertical ‘tiger’ bars along its sides and tail,” Dr Doughty said. The lizard was first found in 1996 and went undetected as a new species for some years. It was found by two biologists, Michael Craig and Simon Conroy, collected an unusual looking dragon lizard while changing a tyre on their 4WD, but it wasn’t until an audit of the museum’s reptile and frog collection two years later that the now preserved dragon caught Mr Maryan’s attention. “I saw it and bells went off. It looked different and I knew it was something new,” he said. Mr Maryan visited Lake Disappointment in September 2004 to observe and collect further specimens in the seemingly unliveable surroundings. “This species is just so well adapted to its environment,” he said.

“The area they live in is so arid and remote.” Reptiles like Ctenophorus nguyarna have gone unnoticed due to the difficulty involved in surveying remote parts of the state. However, further explorations are planned and Mr Maryan predicts that many other new species will be discovered in isolated areas.

“Australia is an amazing place, with so many unknowns,” he said. “Because of the remoteness of their habitats we miss out on a lot - we need to approach these areas with open minds.”

Media contact: Caroline Lacy on (08) 9212 3860 or 0417 970239.

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