14 DAY TRIAL // A new paper in the journal Breviora documents the discovery of four new legless lizard species. These newly discovered creatures all live in California.
Researchers say that one of these species was discovered in an area close to the Los Angeles International Airport. It's been named A. stebbinsi, and its most striking feature is the fact that it is yellow-bellied.
One other species, which happens to be a silver-bellied one, was found in the oil fields around Taft. It is now known as A. alexanderae.
EurekAlert tells us that the third species, i.e. A. campi, was discovered on the margins of the Mojave Desert. The fourth, i.e. A. grinnelli, is a purple-bellied one. It presently inhabits vacant lots in downtown Bakersfield.
Commenting on the discovery of these four previously undocumented legless lizard species, researcher Theodore Papenfuss pointed out that, “This shows that there is a lot of undocumented biodiversity within California.”