Lizard Lost to Science For 130 Years Has Finally Been Rediscovered

This lizard, a reptile which was reportedly spotted in forests in Indonesia, has a large horn protruding from its nose and got its taxonomic description, Harpesaurus Modigliani, back in 1933.

In June 2018, biologist Chairunas Adha Putra found one of these lizards, unfortunately dead, and at first, didn’t know what type of reptile it was. He later discovered that he was in fact holding a Modigliani lizard.

Alongside his team, the biologist returned to northern Sumatra and continued searching until they found another specimen, alive this time. They took photos of the animal, measured it and observed it for the day before then releasing it back into the wild.

The museum’s dead specimen, that is over 130 years old, is pale blue, but the lizard’s natural colour is now known to be bright green.

The reptile belongs to the Agamidae family of lizards, commonly known as dragon lizards. Although this species was originally thought to be extinct, this recent discovery means they can once again be studied and we can find out more about them.