A new species of African lizard, described by a team of researchers including staff at the ANU Research School of Biology, has been named after Sir David Attenborough.

Described by Professor Scott Keogh, Dr Mitzy Pepper and colleagues in the journal Zootaxa(PDF, 3.6MB), Attenborough’s flat lizard (Platysaurus attenboroughi) can be found in parts of South Africa and Namibia.

It was named after naturalist Sir David Attenborough, after he was filmed enthusiastically demonstrating the fly-trapping skills of flat lizards in his 2008 TV series Life in Cold Blood.

Prior to genetic analysis, the lizard was often mistaken for the Cape flat lizard (P. capensis), another South African species of flat lizard.

Male Attenborough’s flat lizards are visually distinct from their female counterparts, sporting vivid dark and light blue colours on their body.

A related species used in Attenborough’s series, the Augrabies flat lizard (P. broadleyi) has an ultraviolet (UV) mark on their throat, which researchers believe the P. Attenborough may also have.

On the Augrabies flat lizard, the mark was found to indicate the fighting capability of an individual and the authors of this paper suspect the same may be for the Attenborough flat lizards.

Professor Scott Keogh also assisted Attenborough during the filming of the Life in Cold Blood series, and along with Dr Mitzy Pepper was one of the authors instrumental in deciding on the naming of the lizard.

Find out more about this spectacular lizard on the BBC Earth website.