<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/17/new-frog-gecko-species-discovered-duan-island>
"Three new animal species – two frogs and a gecko – have been discovered on a
remote island in Australia’s north.
The animals were found on Dauan Island, a 3 sq km island in the far northern
Torres Strait that is dominated by boulder fields.
Conrad Hoskin, an associate professor and terrestrial ecologist at James Cook
University, described the new species after a research expedition to Dauan –
the northernmost point of the Great Dividing Range.
“When you approach it, it just looks like a big triangle sticking out of the
sea and, as you get closer, you realise you’re looking at … car- and
house-sized granite boulders piled up.
“We hiked up into all those boulder fields and found the gecko quickly,” Hoskin
said, having been tipped off by researcher Alexander Davies, who suspected the
island had reptiles not yet known to science.
Named
Nactus simakal, the Dauan Island gecko has a banded pattern and long
legs.
“On the second night, when it was raining, there were these two really distinct
frog calls,” Hoskin said. “Sure enough, they were species new to science.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
