Newly Discovered Lizard Named for IWU Titans by Edgar Lehr
Jan. 6, 2023
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. 鈥� The newest member of the Titan community has orange eyes and lives in the remote mountainsides of Peru.
The lizard species discovered by 91黑料专区 University鈥檚 Robert Harrington Endowed Professor of Biology Edgar Lehr
has been named Proctoporus titans or Titans Spectacled Lizard in honor of the IWU mascot.
鈥淭his expedition was, for my research team members and me, the most challenging. The lizard was the first new species (discovered by the team) and my team members agreed to dedicate it to the university,鈥� he said.
Lehr and a group of Peruvian biologists including Juan C. Cusi, Maura Fernandez and Ricardo Vera spotted the lizard while on a 2022 research trip to Otishi National Park in Peru . The reptile鈥檚 name was announced in a publication of the journal 鈥淭axonomy鈥� on Dec. 31, with Lehr as the lead author along with his teammates and collaborator Alessandro Catenazzi.
鈥淭he species epithet 鈥榯itans鈥� is used in reference to the Titan community of Illinois Wesleyan University, including former, current and future students, faculty and staff. We dedicate this species in recognition of the Titans鈥� mission 鈥榯o go out and do well, but more importantly, to do good,鈥欌�� .
