An international team of researchers has discovered a new lizard species in Balochistan’s Chagai District.
The species, named Eremias chagaiensis, was discovered on low sand dunes and is distinguished by its maze-like brown markings across its back.
Researchers documented the lizard at four locations during field surveys conducted between 2022 and 2025. Its body measures up to 5.7 centimeters, excluding its tail, which can grow more than twice as long as its body.
Unlike other racerunner lizards that typically have lengthwise stripes, the newly discovered species has winding brown patterns that remain visible in both young and adult lizards.
The research was led by Rafaqat Masroor of the Pakistan Museum of Natural History, who said the discovery highlights how little is known about the region’s wildlife.
“Balochistan’s deserts are among the least explored places in South Asia. Finding a new lizard here tells us how much is still undocumented,” Masroor said.
The study also confirmed the presence of another lizard species, Eremias fasciata, in Pakistan through modern specimen examination and DNA analysis, more than a century after it was first reportedly recorded in the country.
Researchers initially noticed that the newly discovered lizard closely resembled Eremias graphica, a species identified in Iran in 2023. However, genetic analysis of two mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene, along with comparisons of body proportions and scales, confirmed that it represents a distinct species.
The findings also identified E. fasciata as its closest relative in the mitochondrial analysis, with approximately 10.6 percent genetic differences between the two species in the genes examined.
The researchers found the new species primarily in loose sand, particularly on low dunes and sandy patches near desert shrubs, where the lizards dig burrows. It was absent from nearby gravel plains, which were inhabited by E. fasciata.
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