Ca Mau: 700 psychedelic Vietnamese geckos found on Hon Khoai Island

NDO/VNA—Scientists from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology have discovered 700 psychedelic rock geckos (Cnemaspis psychedelica) on Hon Khoai Island, Ngoc Hien District in the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

The psychedelic Vietnam gecko discovered on Hon Khoai Island. (Credit: thanhnien.vn)
The psychedelic Vietnam gecko discovered on Hon Khoai Island. (Credit: thanhnien.vn)

The diurnal species, informally called the yellow-tailed gecko in Vietnam, is currently known only from the island. It lives on large granite boulders in the shade of the forest canopy.

It is threatened by extinction due to poaching and illegal trading.

Local scientists have made a submission for the lizard to be listed among the endangered species in the Vietnam Red Data Book.

They are also completing documents to make the gecko a subject of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Experts from Wildlife At Risk Vietnam have proposed that the Ca Mau authorities set up a Cnemaspis psychedelica conservation centre on Hon Khoai island.