A gecko species not seen for over 30 years and feared extinct has been rediscovered in a remote South African canyon.
Researchers from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) have located specimens of the elusive Blyde Rondavel flat gecko, a species first identified in 1991 in Mpumalanga Province’s Blyde River Canyon but not seen since.
The gecko’s existence has been shrouded in mystery for decades.
Some scientists questioned whether the two male specimens originally found were actually juveniles of another species, leading to speculation about its true status.
EWT researchers Darren Pietersen and John Davies embarked on an expedition in April to the same canyon, determined to find the gecko and resolve the long-standing debate.
The rediscovery confirmed the gecko as a distinct species.
Because the Blyde Rondavel gecko hadn’t been recorded for more than 10 years, it was considered a “lost” species.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, the authority on threatened species, listed it as data deficient, meaning not enough was known to say for sure if it was extinct.
“Having a species that is data deficient annoys me,” Dr Pietersen said.
“I’ve always loved the species that others wouldn’t study because they’re harder to find or obscure.”
The research trip was two years in the making after they registered at least six applications for permits to go, Dr Pietersen said.
They were dropped off on the top of one of the canyon’s landmark circular rocky outcrops, which have sheer cliffs more than 100 metres high that can’t easily be climbed and where the geckos were thought most likely to be. It was the exact same outcrop where the geckos were found in 1991.
The researchers only had three days camping on the outcrop to find the geckos, which are around 8-9 centimetres long when fully grown.
“And when we did, we were elated to say the least,” said Dr Pietersen.
He said they saw 20-30 specimens and captured and photographed seven, giving the world a glimpse of a lost gecko three decades in the making.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust said the data they collected, including tissue samples, should allow them to confirm it is a distinct species.
The trust said the gecko was the fifth animal they had rediscovered in recent years. A mole that lives in sand dunes was found in 2021 after having not been seen for more than 80 years, and a butterfly, a lizard and a frog species have also been found again in the last four years after being lost to conservationists for decades.
They all show how much there is still to learn about the world’s biodiversity, the Endangered Wildlife Trust said.
