CURRENT AFFAIRS
CURRENT AFFAIRS
Description
Scientists have discovered a new species of tiny lizards in the Western Ghats' biodiverse forests, which they refer to as "diminutive dragons." The newly discovered species, Agasthyagama edge or the northern kangaroo lizard, belongs to the Agamidae family and is distinguished by its small size, with a maximum snout-vent length of 4.3 cm.
Context
This is the second species in the Agasthyagama genus, following the previously reported A. beddomii from the Sivagiri highlands of Tamil Nadu. A joint team of scientists from various Indian and international universities made the new finding while doing research in the southern Western Ghats at Kulamavu in Idukki.
Distinctive Features
The kangaroo lizard has a shortened fifth toe, which makes them poor climbers. Unlike other lizards, they prefer terrestrial areas with dense leaf litter cover, where they may run quickly and hide behind dry leaves to evade predators.
Discovery And Confirmation
Sandeep Das, lead author and a Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) national postdoctoral researcher at Calicut University, describes the first encounter on an expedition to find the elusive Mahabali frog in 2015. While initially thought to be A. beddomii, additional evidence surfaced, leading the researchers to infer the presence of a new species. Subsequent sightings in the same area supported their hypothesis.
Analyses And Differences
Morphological and molecular analyses confirmed the new species' distinctiveness, and it was discovered that the geographic separation from the nearest distributional records is roughly 80 km.
Physical Characteristics
The newly discovered lizard has a homogeneous, drab olive-brown body and a slightly darker head. Notably, it has a white throat with a thick dark brown stripe on its dewlap and brick-yellow scales on the outside.
Acknowledgment
The species, named Agasthyagama edge, honors the Zoological Society of London's Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) initiative. This initiative, which supports several researchers, including main author Dr. Das and co-author K.P. Rajkumar of the Aranyakam Nature Foundation, focuses on conservation efforts for unique and endangered species.
Research Team
Researchers from various institutions collaborated, including Saunak Pal of the Bombay Natural History Society, Surya Narayanan of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, K. Subin of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Muhamed Jafer Palot of the Zoological Survey of India, and V. Deepak of the University of Wolverhampton.
Publication
The Senckenberg Museum in Germany published the scholarly journal Vertebrate Zoology, which reported on this discovery.
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