A small creature rested atop some leaf debris, perfectly nestled in a patch of sunlight that penetrated the sparse tree cover. Little did the golden creature know — it was soon to be discovered as a new species.
Scientists were exploring foothills and forests in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, according to a Jan. 23 study published in the journal Vertebrate Zoology. They were a few miles east of a village in the P’nyang Range when they spotted the “gold-patterned” creature.
After collecting and examining 17 specimens, researchers realized the creatures were actually a new species: Papuascincus eldorado, or the Golden Mountain skink.
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The “spectacular” new species was distinguished by its small size and distinctive color pattern, experts said.
Golden Mountain skinks are “small” creatures, according to researchers. Specimens ranged in size from about 1.5 inches to 1.9 inches, not including the length of their tails. One male specimen measured about 2.4 inches including his tail.
Males grow to be larger than females, experts said.
The skinks have “glossy” and “smooth” black scales that are topped by three “greenish-gold” stripes that adorn the critters’ backs, scientists said. They have a gold tail covered with “scattered black flecks” and their black limbs have “gold flecking.”
Photos show the shiny, four-legged creatures in various habitats.
Researchers named the species “eldorado,” which means “the golden” in Spanish, after its gold stripes.
The new species lives in foothills and lower forest areas, typically between elevations of about 2,500 feet above sea level and about 5,250 feet above sea level, according to experts. The skink is “restricted to a relatively narrow elevational band” but it is found across the southern edge of the Central Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges.
Scientists found the creatures in “karst basement,” which are characterized by “very thin soils” and “relatively low and quite patchy” tree cover. The new species was often observed “basking in patches of sun on the forest floor or atop vegetative debris around campsites.”
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