Osmania University scientists discover three new lizard species

Hyderabad: Three new species of lizards were discovered in Telangana and Karnataka by the scientists of the Department of Zoology, Osmania University.

The new lizards are known as Deccan Giant Leaf-toed Gecko Hemidactylus Raya, Saxatile Leaf-toed Gecko Hemidactylus saxicolous, and Emulous Leaf-toed Gecko Hemidactylus aemulus.

According to Telangana Today, the three new species of leaf-toed geckoes (lizard) were discovered in the various parts of the Deccan Plateau region between Godavari and Krishna Tungabhadra river basins. The lizards Deccan Giant Leaf-toed Gecko Hemidactylus Raya from Hampi in Bellary district of Karnataka, Saxatile Leaf-toed Gecko Hemidactylus saxicolous from Raichur district of Karnataka, and Emulous Leaf-toed Gecko Hemidactylus aemulus from Chandanapalli near Panagal, Nalgonda district, Telangana.

Dr C Srinivasulu said, “This is a classic case of cryptic diversity in known species; the subtle morphological difference that goes unnoticed by zoologists is the reason why such diversity goes unnoticed. I had been doubting that there is cryptic diversity among the giant leaf-toed Gecko.”