KATHMANDU: Wildlife conservationists have recorded two new species of lizards in Makwanpur and Sindhuli districts.

These reptiles belong to the bent-toed gecko group. They were found in Makawanpurgadhi (Makawanpur) and Hariharpur (Sindhuli), and have now been scientifically named.

The species found in Makawanpurgadhi has been named Makawanpurgadhi Bent-toed Gecko, while the one from Hariharpur, Sindhuli, has been named Chure Bent-toed Gecko.

According to herpetologist Santosh Bhattarai, the geckos have been confirmed as new to science and were featured in the international journal ZooKeys just two days ago. Bhattarai is currently pursuing a PhD on geckos at Federation University in Australia.

The two species were discovered in the Chure (Siwalik) mountain range, a region rich in biodiversity but still under-studied. The research team, led by Bhattarai, found the geckos during fieldwork in June–July 2024. After scientific confirmation, the findings were published in the journal.

Previously, the same team discovered and named three other new species of bent-toed geckos from Nepal. They are Cyrtodactylus chitwanensis (Chitwan Bent-toed Gecko), Cyrtodactylus annapurnaensis (Annapurna Bent-toed Gecko) and Cyrtodactylus karanshahi (Karan’s Bent-toed Gecko).

The last species is named in honor of senior wildlife expert Prof Karan Bahadur Shah for his contribution to reptile research in Nepal.

So far, seven species of geckos have been recorded in Nepal, five of which were discovered by Bhattarai’s team. In Nepal, most wildlife research has focused on larger animals, while smaller reptiles are less studied and recorded, it is said.

These newly identified geckos feed on insects, helping to protect crops from pest attacks. They also serve as food for other animals and have medicinal value, making them biologically significant, according to Shah