New species of lizard found in Pune

Nitya Kaushik

Posted online: Thursday, May 01, 2008 at 0036 hrs IST

Mumbai, April 30
Scientists of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) have discovered a huge 250 mm long lizard, which is said to be the largest in the common gecko family, in the ghats of Pune’s Junnar taluka.

According to scientist Varad Giri, the lizard was first photographed two years ago by Pune-based herpetologist Ashok Captain, who forwarded the photos to BNHS for identification.

“The new gecko has some distinctive features including its large size and unusual scales on the body,” Giri said. So far, a 220-230 mm long spotted rock gecko was the largest lizard discovered in India.

According to Giri, the new gecko’s lamellae — leaf-shaped, bristle-like structures at the base of its foot — are well-developed, indicating that it can scale walls and ceilings easily. However, the scientist said the new gecko was not a home dwelling creature. The scientists have so far studied about more than 20 individual geckos of this species in the rocky cliffs at the Northern Western Ghats. Giri said as soon as he had realised that the lizard was a undescribed species, he contacted the Villanova University, USA, for confirmation. “I forwarded the details to Dr Aaron M Bauer of the US University and he has confirmed that it’s a new species.” Bauer is an expert on lizards, Giri pointed out.

The new lizard — Hemidactylus Aaronbaueri, which is named after Dr Bauer — was recently published in Hamadryad, a scientific journal. “It’s heartening to discover new species of fauna at a time when the only news we hear is about extinction,” he added.

nitya.kaushik@expressindia.com