World's smallest lizard discovered in...( imal gets the larger its surface area ...)

imal gets, the larger its surface area gets as a percentage of the volume or mass of its body. At some point, it gets to be physiologically impossible to get any smaller." For the lizard, which lives in a dry environment surrounded by comparatively moist leaf litter, the limiting factor is the danger of desiccation. "If we don't provide a moist environment when we collect them, they rapidly shrivel right up and die by evaporation from the proportionally large area of their surface," Hedges explains.

Hedges and Thomas named the new lizard in honor of Yvonne Arias, a champion of conservation efforts in the Dominican Republic. Arias is president of the organization known as Groupa Jaragua, a non-governmental organization set up specifically for preserving the biodiversity of the Jaragua National Park.

Hedges and Thomas have discovered and described more than 50 new species of amphibians and reptiles throughout the Caribbean, mostly for genetic and evolutionary studies. Finding them, collecting them, and naming them is a necessary first step for other types of research. Hedges says this exploration and discovery of new species also is critical for protecting biodiversity. "It is difficult to protect a species when you don't know it exists," he says.

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Contact: Barbara K. Kennedy
science@psu.edu
814-863-4682
Penn State
3-Dec-2001

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