6 new lizard species found in NE India
MUMBAI: Scientists have discovered six new species of grounddwelling, bent-toed gecko from northeast India.
The findings, published in the peer-reviewed taxonomic journal Zootaxa on Monday, said the geckos were found in rocky terrains of Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya.
Bent-toed geckos (lizards of the genus Cyrtodactylus), of which there are more than 250 species globally, are nocturnal with slender and curved toes.
The study was a collaborative effort between scientists from multiple Indian and international institutions, including lead authors Ishan Agarwal from the Indian Institute of Science-bengaluru, Dr Varad Giri from the National Centre for Biological Sciences-bengaluru, Stephen Mahony, from London’s Natural History Museum, and Professor Aaron Bauer of Villanova University in the USA. “Now, we understand so many more species that we did not know about earlier,” said Agarwal.
Cyrtodactylus guwahatiensis or the Guwahati bent-toed gecko is the fifth gecko to be named after a major Indian city (there are two from Bengaluru, one each from Mumbai and Delhi). Another, Cyrtodactylus nagalandensis, was named after the state. The third, Cyrtodactylus kazirangaensis, was located in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. The fourth was identified as the largest (96mm) Indian bent-toed gecko from the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya. The fifth was spotted in the Jampui Hills of Tripura, named Cyrtodactylus montanus and the final one from near Abhayapuri, Assam was named Cyrtodactylus septentrionalis. All species apart from the Indian bent-toed gecko ranged between 65 and 80 mm in size.
“We cannot tell these species apart from the colour pattern but by molecular data and mitochondrial sequences,” said Agarwal.
“There is a clear indication that the northeast needs to be protected as many more such discoveries will come through,” said Giri.