Sibuyan Island gecko discovered as new species endemic to Romblon

Photo courtesy of DENR Mimaropa

MANILA, Philippines — Scientists have identified a new gecko species found only on Sibuyan Island in Romblon, adding to the island’s growing list of endemic wildlife and reinforcing its reputation as one of the country’s biodiversity hotspots.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Mimaropa welcomed the discovery of Luperosaurus alvarezi, saying it further strengthens Sibuyan Island’s status as one of the Philippines’ premier biodiversity strongholds and underscores the need to protect its remaining forests.

The newly described fringed forest gecko was reported in the international peer-reviewed journal PeerJ by researchers Camila G. Meneses and Rafe M. Brown following comprehensive morphological and molecular analyses that confirmed it as a distinct evolutionary lineage found nowhere else in the world.

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