Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
Ho Chi Minh City, Nov 12, (THAINDIAN NEWS) A new species of lizard has been identified by scientists in Vietnam which is served as a lunch item in the menu at a restaurant in the southern part of the country. The previously undocumented species of lizards are one of its kind as they are all-female who reproduce with the help of cloning and are found at the Mekong River delta of Vietnam. The reptile species was discovered by a Vietnamese reptile scientist and the manner in which it was found is as intriguing as the creatures themselves.

Ngo Van Tri who is associated with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology went to dine at a restaurant in the rural parts of Southern Vietnam where he caught a glimpse of a tankful of the distinct lizards kept at the eatery which were part of the menu that was served there. After taking a look at the reptiles, the scientist suspected that they might be a new species of the creatures altogether and so he mailed pictures of the lizards to two of his colleagues in the United States.

The two scientists, Lee Grismer of La Sierra University in Riverside, California and his son Jesse Grismer who is associated with the Pennsylvania-based Villanova University, arrived in Vietnam in no time and after much deliberation were able to examine the unique species of lizards. While talking about the lizard, Leiolepis ngovantrii, Lee Grismer added that it is an absolutely new lineage of life that is served as food in restaurants in Vietnam. The scientist further added although the locals are well acquainted with the reptiles, the species till now remained unknown to science.