The Los Angeles County Natural History Museum is conducting a hunt for the “Lost Lizards of Los Angeles,” which they describe as “an unusual wildlife safari” to be conducted in backyards across the county.
Although the lizard census doesn’t officially start until late spring, the weekend prior to the first day of spring on Mar. 20, a group of about 20 local amphibian experts gathered at Exposition Park in south Los Angeles on a salamander hunt, according to Brian Brown, curator of entomology at the Natural History Museum.
This isn’t the first time the hunt has been on for lizards in Los Angeles County. One search was conducted 76 years ago. Scientists believe there are roughly 4,675 lizard species worldwide, but how many reside in Southern California is an unknown.
To date, there is no record of lizards having been found in Exposition Park, Brown said, and the question for scientists is “why?‘ The hope is the Lost Lizard hunt may answer that question, as well as come up any unaccounted for species, which Brown said there is a good chance of happening.
“The chance of finding a new species here is the same as in a rain forest. Our own backyards in some way are just as unknown as some remote jungle,” he said.
If there are new species, Brown and others think there is a good chance that any lizards new to the area or new breeds will be unearthed by the volunteers who are conducting the search for the Lost Lizards of Los Angeles survey.