Jan. 2, 2007 Chris Austin, assistant curator of herpetology at
LSU's Museum of Natural Science, or LSUMNS, and adjunct
professor in biological sciences, recently discovered a new
species of lizard while conducting field research in Borneo.
Austin, along with colleague Indraneil Das from the Institute of
Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the Universiti
Malaysia Sarawak, will publish their findings and photos of the
new species in the prestigious Journal of Herpetology. The
article is slated for publication in March 2007. "We actually
found four specimens at once," said Austin. "One of the best
methods for finding lizards in the rainforest is to look under
logs. We found two individuals of the new species under one log
and two more under another." With more than 15 years of
fieldwork experience behind him, Austin knew immediately that he
had found a new species. After collecting the lizards, he and
Das began the difficult work of proving what they already knew.
"Determining that a species is new to