Peru, already home to over 290 lizard species, finds a new one

Scientists have discovered a new species of lizard in the Peruvian Andes, the Natural History Museum of San Marcos University said on Saturday.

The lizard measures between six and eight centimetres and has distinct colouration depending on sex.

Females have square-shaped spots on their backs, while males have oblique spots and white scales that help them blend into their rocky surroundings.

The lizard feeds on plants and small arthropods, including spiders, beetles, true bugs and insect larvae.

The new species was found at an altitude of more than 4,800 metres in the southern Andean region of Arequipa and was given the name Liolaemus archipensis.

“The description of a new species represents a very important advance for biodiversity in our country,” biologist Ling Huamani-Valderrama, who led the research, told AFP.

Peru is home to 296 species of lizard, according to the biologist. The discovery was published in the Swiss scientific journal Diversity.

An “amphibious mouse” with partially webbed feet that eats aquatic insects was among 27 new species discovered during a 2022 expedition to Peru’s Amazon, according to Conservation International.

Scientists also discovered a spiny mouse, a squirrel, eight types of fish, three amphibians and 10 types of butterflies, according to Trond Larsen, head of Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Programme.

He added that another 48 species found by investigators were potentially new, but needed further study.

In July 2025, palaeontologists in Peru’s Ocucaje Desert unveiled the fossilised skeleton of an ancient, dolphin-like creature estimated to be between 8 and 12 million years old.