Vibrant creature looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night, study says. See the new species

As the sunshine filtered through a forest of southern India, a vibrantly colored creature perched on a tree trunk. Perhaps it was waiting for its next meal or searching for a mate.

Something about the “slender” animal caught the attention of visiting scientists. It turned out to be a new species.

Researchers encountered the speckled lizards during a 2022 visit to a nature reserve in Tamil Nadu, according to a study published March 27 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys. The visit was part of a yearslong wildlife survey.

During the visit, researchers captured seven of these lizards, the study said. They took a closer look at the animals and quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Cnemaspis vangoghi, or Van Gogh’s starry dwarf gecko.

“Cnemaspis vangoghi is named for Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) as the striking coloration of the new species is reminiscent of one of his most iconic paintings, ‘The Starry Night’,” co-author Ishan Agarwal said in a March 28 news release from Pensoft Publishers.

Discover more new species

Thousands of new species are found each year. Here are three of our most eye-catching stories from the past week.

→Deep-sea creature — with yellowy tentacles and over 80 feet — is new species

→Reddish sea creature — with over 70 feet — found by a submarine

→Spiky 'dwarf'-like creature found at abandoned building in India

Photos show a male Van Gogh’s starry dwarf gecko. Most of its body is a dusky blue-gray coloring and covered in white spots. Its upper body is a bright, eye-catching yellow. The combination looks like the abstract night sky.

Van Gogh’s starry dwarf gecko is considered “small,” reaching about 2.6 inches in length, the study said. It has a “slender” body with a bumpy texture, “reddish” eyes and “strong” claws.

The coloring of the new species varies ”strongly” between males and females, the study said. Females are primarily brown and covered in black blotches.

Van Gogh’s starry dwarf geckos live in lowland forests and are most active during the day, researchers said. The geckos were found on rocks and tree trunks.

So far, the new species has only been found in the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, the study said. This national park is near the southern tip of India, about 1,600 miles south of New Delhi.

The new species was identified by its coloring, scale pattern, spikes and size, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 7% genetic divergence from other dwarf geckos.

The research team included Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray and Ishan Agarwal. The team also discovered another new species, the Sathuragiri dwarf gecko.

‘Secretive’ creature — ‘quite aggressive’ — found lurking in cave. It’s a new species

Creature with metallic, ‘olive green’ coloring discovered in Texas. It’s a new species

‘Inflated’ sea creature — with 20 tentacles — found by submarine. It’s a new species