Blyde River Canyon, where the gecko was found – Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA.

Dropped off via helicopter on a cliff edge high on a rocky escarpment in South Africa, an observer might have mistaken a pair of herpetologists for Army Rangers.

In reality, they were searching for a gecko species not seen in 30 years since the first instance it was recorded. So much time had passed without a sighting of the little desert-colored reptile that scientists had begun to doubt its existence.

The Blyde River flat gecko vanished from all knowledge after its first appearance in the scientific record in 1991, and being that there are other gecko species that look quite similar which live nearby, it was hypothesized that it might have just been a juvenile coloration of this other known species.

“Annoyed” by this lack of clarity, and armed with expedition permits that required two years to acquire, Darren Pietersen and John Davies from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) were flown via helicopter to the exact spot where the original gecko had been found.

“Having a species that is data deficient annoys me,” Pietersen told AP. “I’ve always loved the species that others wouldn’t study because they’re harder to find or obscure.”

The flat gecko was found 300 feet atop a single escarpment, or inselberg, on Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga province in the far northeast corner of South Africa, and that proved to be a great place to start looking, as Davies and Pietersen found it again in short order after a 2-3 day camping trip.

They identified 20 to 30 individuals, photographed 7, and collected tissue samples from a few.

LOST AND FOUND:

A statement from EWT said the tissue samples would facilitate an in-depth genetic investigation as to the taxonomic placement of this species within the genus, and to confirm its status as a distinct species.

Hippos, snakes, crocodiles, precipitous drops, and ankle-twisting terrain represented the risks of wandering about in the nature reserve, pulling up rocks in search of geckos.

Further data will then be collected so that the species’ threat status can be evaluated, the threats its faces determined, and the conservation actions required planned and implemented.

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