Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Two lizard species discovered in Siem Reap’s Phnom Kulen Park

Two lizard species discovered in Siem Reap’s Phnom Kulen Park

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Calotes and Bent-toed were found in Kulen protected area in Siem Reap province’s Banteay Srei district. Banteay Srey district Administration

Two lizard species discovered in Siem Reap’s Phnom Kulen Park

Two unknown species of lizard were discovered in Kbal Spean, an Angkorian era archaeological site within the Phnom Kulen National Park, in Siem Reap province’s Banteay Srei district. They have been named calotes goetzi and the bent-toed gecko.

The Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) said in a recent Facebook post that ACCB was assisted in field studies leading to the discovery of a new type of agamid lizard the calotes goetzi. This species is distributed over a large area including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

Calotes goetzi is named after Dr Goetz, one of ACCB’s largest supporters. The ACCB team helped with the research that led to the discovery of the new species, according to the organisation’s official Facebook page.

The other discovery was a bent-toed gecko. This species of lizard lives in small areas such as isolated mountainous areas in Asia and Australia, according to ACCB. This gecko or Cyrtodactylus kulenensis is also nicknamed “Bent-toed Kulen mountain”, where the word Kulenensis represents Kulen mountain.

“Not only do we focus on ex-situ conservation, but we are also involved in in-situ conservation,” ACCB said.

In a Facebook post on May 20, Banteay Srei district governor Khim Finan said the two new species were found in trees and sandstone slabs in the park. They were first seen by researchers from ACCB based in the district.

Finan appealed to the public, especially tourists, to visit Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean to see these two rare and beautiful animals.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide

  • PM urges end to ‘baseless’ international Ream base accusations

    Prime Minister Hun Sen urges an end to “baseless” foreign accusations surrounding the development of the Kingdom’s Ream Naval Base, as the US has consistently suggested that the base is being expanded to accommodate a Chinese military presence. Hun Sen renewed his calls while

  • Almost 9K tourists see equinox sunrise at Angkor Wat

    Nearly 9,000 visitors – including 2,226 international tourists – gathered at Angkor Wat on March 21 to view the spring equinox sunrise, according to a senior official of the Siem Reap provinical tourism department. Ngov Seng Kak, director of the department, said a total of 8,726 people visited Angkor Wat to