An ancient species of gecko just discovered in remote northern Australia is already under threat from dwindling habitat.

PhD student Conrad Hoskin from the University of Queensland in Brisbane who found the Gulbaru gecko (Phyllurus gulbaru) has just described the new species in the Australian Journal of Zoology.

Hoskin says the gecko is a "spectacular" animal which is large, prickly and reaches a length of 13cm.

Living in a suburb-sized area of just 14 square kilometres, the reptile is one of the most narrowly restricted reptile species in Queensland, says Hoskin.

Under international criteria, any dwindling species occupying less than 500 square kilometres is defined as endangered.

"The Gulbaru gecko and other leaf-tailed geckos are part of an ancient lineage that appear to be Gondwanan, says Hoskin, adding that the new gecko may be related to those in New Zealand and New Caledonia.

In 1998 Hoskin had discovered another distinct leaf-tailed gecko, the Mt Elliot gecko (Phyllurus amnicola) in a neighbouring area near the Townsville. Then in 2001, he encountered the Gulbara gecko during a nocturnal search – in the form of a pair of red eyes glowing in the dark. He believed the gecko was a new species, and it later turned out to be genetically more closely related to leaf-tailed geckos from the Mackay area than the Mt Elliot gecko he had previously discovered.

After the first discovery, Hoskin went back and surveyed the area and other comparable habitats, finding just two small sub-populations of the Gulbaru gecko. Both dwelt in rocky rainforest areas surrounded by open eucalypt forests, very little of which is protected.

"Only a small fraction of the suitable habitat for the Gulbaru gecko receives some degree of protection in state forest," Hoskin says.

"Our surveys indicate that the species probably occurs in two subpopulations near Townsville separated by an expanse of unsuitable habitat.

"The reduction and fragmentation of patches of suitable habitat by fire poses a threat to the survival of this species. Since this species was discovered, much suitable habitat has already been destroyed by severe burning. The destruction of habitat by unmanaged burning continues to reduce and further fragment the available habitat."

Leaf-tailed geckos are so-called because their tails look like flat leaves, but the Gulbaru gecko's tail is obviously different, being long and cylindrical, says Hoskin.

Queensland Museum is keeping a few preserved specimens of the new species for scientific comparison.

Purple frog
Meanwhile in India, researchers report this week the discovery of a new species of frog which is deep purple, bloated like a beachball and sporting a snout like a pig.

The unamed frog, which discoverers say belongs in a new family, lives in the Western Ghats Mountains, one of eight biodiversity hotspots in the world.

But co-discoverer Dr Franky Bossuyt from the Free University of Brussels says its not just any new species.

"You could say it was a living fossil," says Bossuyt.

He said the new frog's closest relatives lived in the Seychelles, 3000km away.

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