Saturday, 11 July 2020

New species of fan-throated lizard discovered in northern Karnataka

New species of fan-throated lizard discovered in northern Karnataka

A new species of fan-throated lizard has been described from the barren lands of northern Karnataka’s Bagalkot district.

The new species has been named 'Sitana dharwarensis' - derived from the Dharwar craton- a piece of the Earth’s crust that dates back to 2–3 billion years ago, according to a press statement released in Mumbai.

 The new species is quite similar to a species of fan-throated lizard called Sitana laticeps, however, the new species bears a much larger throat fan or dewlap.

The distinctness was new species was confirmed after comparing DNA sequences and micro-CT scans of the two species