New species of ground-dwelling lizard discovered in Mumbai

A new species of a ground-dwelling lizard has been discovered in Goregaon's Aarey Colony and Thane's Badlapur forested belts. The species has been named after a Bengaluru-based scientist Varad Giri.

The species is discovered 130 years after the last such gecko was discovered.

The findings on the new species were published in the third week of September 2016 in the international scientific journal Zootaxa.

About the new lizard species

• The new species is named as Cyrtodactylus Varadgirii or Giri's Geckoella.

• The species, of the genus Cyrtodactylus known in Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka, is a member of the subgenus Geckoella.

• Earlier, this new species was considered as Geckoella Collegalensis. However, based on morphological characters and DNA data, it has been described as a new species.

• This uncommon species is mostly seen moving among the leaf litter on the forest floor.

• They are active during night and take refuge under rocks and logs during the day. It grows the length of around 6 centimeters.

• They are found in localities like Sanjay Gandhi National Park in north Mumbai, the Aarey Colony, a few localities in Nanded, Chandrapur and Amaravati districts and a few localities in Gujarat.

• The new species is also known to live around human-dominated landscapes and is a widely distributed species in this genus in India.

Now get latest Current Affairs on mobile, Download # 1  Current Affairs App