FOUND: Troglodytic Rarity 10th Specimen of the Tarascan Night Lizard Known to Science July of 1976 found mammal researcher Aurelio Ocaña in a rocky canyon in the western state of Michoacán. He was checking mouse traps he'd previously set and was surprised to find that three strange lizards had been caught in the Museum Special traps. The specimens eventually made their way to herpetologist Ticul Alvarez, and then to Robert Bezy and Robert Webb. Careful analysis revealed that, while similar to known species of tropical night lizards (genus Lepidophyma), these lizards represented a new, unique species. In 1982, Aurelio's specimens were designated as the type-series for the new species Lepidophyma tarascae, named for the Tarascan people whose empire once stretched from the Michoacán coast to the Mesa Central (herp.mx/pubs/1982-Bezy-et-al-Lepidophyma-tarascae.pdf). Then Lepidophyma tarascae seemingly disappeared. Despite efforts at the original locality, no additional Tarascan Night Lizards were found for another two decades until researchers discovered a 4th lizard hiding in a cave approximately 65km north of the type locality (herp.mx/pubs/1998-Guzman-Villa-Lepidophyma-tarascae.pdf). Additional specimens were then found in Guerrero by Gustavo Peña (herp.mx/pubs/2006-Garcia-Vazquez-Lepidophyma-tarascae.pdf) and later by the HERP.MX Field Team and Deron Hartman in the state of Colima in 2004 and 2005 (herp.mx/pubs/2009-Reyes-Velasco-Colima.pdf) bringing the total number of known specimens to just 9. Here we're proud to announce specimen #10, which was spotted this past Monday, 15 meters below the surface in a sinkhole in Colima.
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