New species of blind and legless lizard found in Cambodia

May 2011: A new species of lizard has been discovered in Cambodia. Cambodian scientist Neang Thy thought he had found a common flowerpot snake when he turned over a log in the Cardamom Mountains and noticed a small worm-like creature trying to flee from the sudden light. But on closer inspection the diminutive reptile was revealed to be a peculiar type of lizard that is both blind and legless.

WORM-LIKE: The lizard has no legs and no eyes

It also proved to be yet another species from Cambodia that is new to science.

‘At first I thought it was a common species,' said Thy, who works as a herpetologist with the Ministry of Environment and Fauna & Flora International (FFI), ‘but looking closer I realised it was something I didn't recognise.'

A remarkable find
These cryptic species of reptile are easily overlooked and previous to this discovery there are no records for blind lizards occurring in Cambodia. The species was finally named the Dalai Mountain blind lizard after the mountain on which it was found. 

Recent biological surveys in Cambodia have resulted in a wealth of unusual new species, ranging from carnivorous plants to a green-bloodied frog. ‘This latest find is particularly remarkable,' said Dr Jenny Daltry, senior conservation biologist with FFI, ‘because it is not only a new species, but also the first reptile to be both discovered and formally described in a scientific journal by a Cambodian national.'

‘As soon as I realised we had something new I was determined to describe it myself,' said Thy. The process of describing and naming a new species is a complex one, which he had learned during a study period in La Sierra University in the United States.