Sitana visiri
Sitana visiri, the palm leaf fan-throated lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to the Tamil Nadu region of India.[1][2]
| Sitana visiri | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Agamidae |
| Genus: | Sitana |
| Species: | S. visiri |
| Binomial name | |
| Sitana visiri Deepak, 2016 | |
Etymology
The Sitana visiri species epithet is derived from the regional Tamil language word for a hand-crafted fan made from palm leaf (also the source of the common name), because the dewlap of S. visiri resembles a local palm-leaf fan.[1]
Description
Sitana visiri can be distinguished from other members of Sitana genus in the spinaecephalus clade by a strongly serrated dewlap with a large orange spot surrounded by extensive blue color.[3] The dewlap of S. visiri extends up to 56% of its trunk, which is proportionally larger than that of Sitana ponticeriana, S. bahiri, and S. devakai.[3] S. visiri is differentiated from the species in the ponticeriana clade in having a larger snout-vent length.[3]
Ecology
Sitana visiri is endemic to the Tamil Nadu region of India where it lives in coastal sand dunes, grasslands, plains, and areas dominated by Prosopis juliflora.[1] S. visiri occurs in similar regions alongside Eutropis carinata, Eutropis bibronii, and Calotes versicolor.[1] S. virisi is a oviparous or egg laying species, with breeding males been observed in fall (September and October) and hatchlings observed in January.[1]
References
- Sitana visiri at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 28 April 2021.
- Deepak, V.; Khandekar, Akshay; Varma, Sandeep; Chaitanya, R. (20 July 2016). "Description of a new species of Sitana Cuvier, 1829 from southern India". Zootaxa. 4139 (2): 167. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4139.2.2.
- Deepak, V.; Giri, Varad B.; Asif, Mohammad; Dutta, Sushil Kumar; Vyas, Raju; Zambre, Amod M.; Bhosale, Harshal; Karanth, K. Praveen (9 March 2016). "Systematics and phylogeny of Sitana (Reptilia: Agamidae) of Peninsular India, with the description of one new genus and five new species". Contributions to Zoology. 85 (1): 67–111. doi:10.1163/18759866-08501004. ISSN 1875-9866.