Unusually large, alligator-like new species found in Mexico

Scientists have found an "unusually large" scaly animal similar to an alligator in the treetops of southern Mexico. It turned out to be a new species which has avoided detection by hiding in the foliage.

According to a study published inPLOS Onejournal, researchers searched for the elusive lizard-like creature on five expeditions between 2015 and 2022 after "intriguing photographs" of the animal emerged in 2014.

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The study noted that the search was "extraordinarily difficult." Researchers spent over 350 hours searching the ground and climbing about 20 trees to look at their limbs and canopy, the Miami Herald reported.

Eventually, they found what they were looking for. They discovered it was a new species and named it Abronia cunemica or the Coapilla arboreal alligator lizard.

About Coapilla Arboreal Alligator Lizards

Coapilla arboreal alligator lizards can grow about 9.8 inches long and have a yellow-brown scaly body covered in darker brown blotches. They have pale yellow eyes with dark flecks, the research said.

They live in the forest canopy, between 11 feet and 64 feet, and mostly come out in the morning or afternoon.

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The researchers also found two female lizards who were pregnant. They also located two lizards "in a courtship bite-hold on the forest floor, after they presumably fell" from a nearby tree. When they captured the male, he stopped biting the female. However, it "re-initiated a more persistent bite hold on her head and neck" later in the day. Moreover, they encountered a female twice on their expedition within a roughly 30-foot area, but 97 days apart.

According to the study, Coapilla arboreal alligator lizards might become inactive for some part of the year.

Researchers have named the newly-discovered species "cunemica" after Cuñemo, the indigenous Zoque language name for Coapilla. The common name refers to their native area.

The research team has found the Coapilla arboreal alligator lizards only in Coapilla, a town in the southern state of Chiapas, about 700 kilometres southeast of Mexico City. They have not revealed the exact location of the new species to protect them.

Scientists found another group of alligator lizards exclusive to Central America, inhabiting "humid highland forests." These "mysterious" lizards have gone unnoticed for so long due to their "cryptic behaviour" and limited distribution area.

(With inputs from agencies)