14 New Species Discovered in Brazil

A hotspot for biodiversity that once covered an area half the size of Europe, the Cerrado is now being converted to cropland and ranchland at twice the rate of the neighboring Amazon rainforest, according to Conservation International.

Among the 14 species newly discovered in the region are a legless lizard and a tiny woodpecker.

This snake-like species of legless lizard, of the genus Bachia, is one of the new species discovered during a expedition to the Brazilian Cerrado region. Although there are other species of the genus in the Cerrado (almost all discovered and described only recently), this new species has only been recorded in the Serra Geral do Tocantins Ecological Station.

The absence of legs are one distinguishing feature of a newly discovered lizard in the Cerrado region of Brazil. The snake-like features help in locomotion over the surface layer of sandy soil, predominating in all the region, which was formed by the natural erosion of the escarpments of the Serra Geral plateaus.

The sharply pointed snout of a new species of legless lizard discovered in the Cerrado region of Brazil helps this unique species navigate the broken, highly eroded landscape.

The lizard Stenocercus quinarius, recently described and known to exist in few locations, was discovered for the first time in the Jalapao region of Brazil during a recent field study. Large portions of its natural range have been irreversibly converted by agriculture, mainly in the Serra Geral plateaus, close to the eastern limits of the Serra Geral do Tocantins ecological station.

This horned toad of the genus Proceratophrys is believed to be new to science. Protected areas like those where this toad was found in the "breadbasket" of Brazil are important because the woodland- savanna, while still the most extensive in South America, is fast being carved up for farming and ranching.

This species of amphibian (Corythomantis greeningi) occurs mainly in the Caatinga region of Brazil, with only scant recordings in the Cerrado. A new discovery of this species in the region is the first recorded for the Jalapao region. The secretions of its skin can cause irritation to the eyes and nose.

Some of the species the expedition recorded in the Cerrado are relatively rare and little known, like this small fat-tailed mouse opossum of the genus Thylamys, registered for the first time in the region.

This species of frog, Phyllomedusa azurea, is found in riparian areas close to water bodies and palm marshes of Brazil's Cerrado. Medications can often be developed from the skin of amphibians, which excrete unique chemical defense substances. Studies of this species may yield compounds useful in fighting chagas disease.

Loss of biodiversity around the world, besides being an ethical and environmental issue, is one critical to medical science. Species lost to the Earth will never be studied, and their unique evolutionary path will never be exploited to aid human health.