Picture gallery of the new species

A legless lizard and a miniature woodpecker are among 14 species new to science discovered in a remote region of Brazil. The animals were identified during an expedition to the Cerrado, an area of wooded grassland rated among the world’s top 50 homes for wildlife.

Scientists found that the new lizard, from the Bachia genus, was perfectly adapted to its surroundings, being able to slither, snake-like across the sandy soil. The expedition carried out by Conservation International in partnership with researchers from Brazilian universities also found eight previously unknown species of fish, two reptiles, a horned toad and a fat-tailed mouse oppossum.

All were located in and around the 716,000-hectare (1.77 million-acre) Serra Geral do Tocantins Ecological Station. The woodpecker had a striking red head and at about 12cm long is one of the smallest in the world.

Dr Nogueira described the discovery of new species as better than finding buried treasure. He said it was likely that there were more new species in the region but habitat was being destroyed so fast that they could become extinct before being identified. “The area we were looking in is large and it is likely there are other unknown species, especially fish — they are a very diverse group — and reptiles.”

Several species of animal known to be struggling for survival were identified in the area including the hyacinth macaw. Other endangered creatures spotted were marsh deer, the three-banded armadillo, the Brazilian merganser, and the dwarf tinamou. Overall, scientists identified 440 species in 29 days tramping through the region.

“It’s very exciting to find new species,” said Cristiano Nogueira, a biologist with Conservation International who led the expedition. “We gathered valuable data on the richness, abundance, and distribution of wildlife in one of the most extensive, complex, and unknown regions of the Cerrado.

“Protected areas such as the Ecological Station are home to some of the last remaining healthy ecosystems in a region increasingly threatened by urban growth and mechanized agriculture.” Researchers taking part in the project are convinced the 14 new species have never been described.

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