Peruvian Scientists Name a New Lizard Found Above 4,800 Metres in the Andes, Bringing the Country's Total to 296 Species

The work was led by the biologist Ling Huamani-Valderrama, who said that describing a new species "represents a very important advance for biodiversity in our country." The description was published in Diversity, a Swiss scientific journal, and brings the number of lizard species known from Peru to 296, the team says.

The genus behind it

The genus Liolaemus is among the most species-rich groups of lizards in the world, with a range that runs through the Andes and southern South America as far as Patagonia. Its members have colonised some of the harshest habitats on the continent, from high-altitude plateaus to cold southern steppe, and new species are still being described in it at a steady pace. That is why a find like this one is credible even in a country already known to hold hundreds of lizard species.

Why altitude matters

Living above 4,800 metres means coping with thin air, intense sunlight and sharp swings in temperature between day and night. Small lizards in these places often rely on basking on rocks for heat, which is why the colour and pattern of the males here, built for camouflage against stone, matter for survival. Species restricted to narrow high-altitude zones can also be sensitive to climate change, because there is nowhere higher for them to go.

The Sharjah24 report on the announcement repeats the main details: the species name, the altitude, the Swiss journal and the new national total of 296.

What comes next

Formal description is the first step. Field surveys in neighbouring highland areas will show how widespread the lizard is, and whether it faces any threats. For now, the announcement is a reminder that a country can be thoroughly surveyed and still hold unrecorded vertebrates on its highest slopes.