2024-02-12 19:53:00
Scientists named one of the species found ‘Bruce Dickinson’. (Photo: Diffusion)
Peru, once again, became the scene of an important world-class discovery. As reported by the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp), a multinational group of scientists managed to find two new species of animals never before identified on the face of the Earth.
To be more exact, the surprising discovery took place in the Colán Mountain Range, located in the Amazonas region, between the eastern and northern limits of the Marañón and Utcubamba rivers.
The anecdotal aspect of this important discovery is that one of the animals was named ‘Bruce Dickinson’, in honor of the legendary 65-year-old singer of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, which has recognized songs such as The Trooper, Run to the Hills, Wasted Years, etc.
Scientists named one of the species found ‘Bruce Dickinson’. (Photo: Diffusion)
The official portal of the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State details that these are “two species recently described for science”: Enyalioides cyanocephalus sp. nov. and Enyalioides dickinsoni sp. nov..
“They inhabit the humid montane forests of the Cordillera de Colán, and were registered within the scope of five conservation units: Cerro El Adobe Conservation Concession, ACP Copallín, ACP Pampa del Burro, Cordillera de Colán National Sanctuary and Chayu Communal Reserve Nain,” says the Sernanp statement.
Enyalioides cyanocephalus was described as a “blue-headed stick lizard.” In it, the bluish head of some adult males stands out, although of the specimens recorded by the researchers, only two adult males had the distinctive bluish head.
“The males of this species are commonly known by the local population of the Cordillera de Colán as blue-headed chameleon, which leads us to think that the presence of males with blue heads is frequent.”
Enyalioides cyanocephalus was described as a “blue-headed stick lizard.” (Photo: Minam)
Meanwhile, the Enyalioides dickinsoni, called “Dickinson’s stick lizard”, has an orange head, green body and small legs. It is specifically named in honor of Paul Bruce Dickinson, lead vocalist of the legendary heavy metal band Iron Maiden.
The Enyalioides dickinsoni, called “Dickinson’s stick lizard”, has an orange head, green body and small legs. (Photo: Minam)
So far the reason for the name is unknown. It is not ruled out that one of the researchers who were involved in his discovery is a fan of his music or the genre in particular.
Experts from the Rainforest Partnership, the Peruvian Institute of Herpetology and the Zoology Museum of the School of Biological Sciences of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador participated in the research. They all worked together with the staff of Sernanp, an organization attached to the Ministry of the Environment (Minam).
They find a new animal in the jungle of Peru and it is named in honor of the Iron Maiden singer. (Photo: Diffusion)
According to Christian Olivera, head of the Cordillera de Colán National Sanctuary, more than five species of amphibians have recently been recorded in the area. For this reason, he highlighted the importance of coordinating efforts with local communities to protect these ecosystems.
“The study indicates that, including these two new species, in the last three decades the herpetological exploration of the Andes from northern Peru has allowed the discovery of 35 species of lizards belonging to ten genera,” says the official statement from the organization attached to Minam. .
Before these two findings in the national Amazon, in November 2023, a mammal never before recorded in the Peruvian jungle was reported. According to locals, it is a specimen the size of a giant rat, which had been seen for years, and mistaken for another animal, in the ecological reserve of Santa Elena, located 15 minutes from the center of Rioja, one of the 10 provinces. from the San Martín region.
It is a mammal that is very difficult to see and coexists with the great variety of monkeys, fish, reptiles, birds and more species that inhabit this area that can be explored even by children and the elderly.
“It’s very big, as if it were a vintage. Rather, at first we thought it was an old thing, but in the end it wasn’t, because it was already very big. We confused it, but after the study of biologists and scientists who came here, they confirmed that it was a new species that had never been recorded. They were experts in flora and fauna,” declared Alex Castillo, Santa Elena counselor, to Infobae Perú.
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