New species of tiny geckos found in India named after Vincent van Gogh

Researchers have named a new tiny gecko species discovered in the Southen Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, India, after the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The tiny lizard’s appearance reminded them of The Starry Night. They published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys.

“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,” researcher Ishan Agarwal said in a statement. He made the discovery with fellow researchers Akshay Khandekar and Tejas Thackeray.

Males of the species have a yellow head and forebody and light blue spots on the back and tail. The tiny lizards can reach lengths of about 3.4 centimeters. They are diurnal, meaning they’re mainly active in the early morning hours and live among rocks and occasionally on buildings and trees.

The researchers discovered the Cnemaspis vangoghi during an expedition in April 2022 and named it after Van Gogh the moment that genetic sequencing confirmed it was a new species. They also discovered another new gecko species, Cnemaspis sathuragiriensis - named for its occurrence in the Sathuragiri Hills - during that expedition.

“Tamil Nadu is an exceptionally biodiverse state, and we expect to name well over 50 new species of lizards by the time we are done [with our expeditions],” Ishan Agarwal said.