As darkness settled over a forest of southern Vietnam, a “long”-limbed creature with “dagger-like spines” climbed into a shrub and fell asleep. But the night wouldn’t be restful. Passing scientists ...

reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles ... intercepted over 200 cases of incoming "exotic pets," such as the Galápagos centipede, long-horned rhinoceros beetle, and shiny burrow scorpion.

Intrigued, they took a closer look at the “distinct” reptiles and quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Acanthosaura cuongi, or Cuong’s horned tree lizard. An Acanthosaura ...