Researchers from the Department of Zoology Goa University and the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation have found a new type of lizard called gecko. Gecko is the smallest species with a length of mm and is endemic to biodiversity.
Hemiphyllodactylus has been given the scientific name Hemiphylodactylus goaensis after Goa, as this species originated from Goa and it is often called Goa Slender Gecko.
Hemiphyllodactylus goaensis is the eighth species of the genus in India and the 44th species all over the world. In the zoological journal Zootaxa, the new species Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker was published, said Akshay Khandekar and Dikansh Parmar.
“The first species of animal from Goa University is Hemiphyllodactylus has described,” Nitin Sawant, assistant professor and teacher in charge of the department of zoology, Goa University (GU).
They found the three new species in two types of regions – two in North Goa at Goa University (GU) Campus and one in Chandor in the South. Snake rescuer Rinku Kumar Gupta found the female species spotted on a wooden rod in their house. Parmar spotted the first specimen on 18th March 2020. The third specimen was also spotted on the GU campus, which is famous for its rich plant and biodiversity, especially for reptiles.
Goa University is on a flat, coastal, lateritic outcrop with dry grasslands, scattered vegetation, shrubs and trees and Chandor is in a semi-urban residential area.
Apart from this, the specimens are also changed by their dorsal scales and 13-14 ventral scales at mid-body accommodated within a longitudinal eye diameter and also within the colour pattern.
The first member of the genus is to be originated from the northern Western Ghats and the Goa state. The discovery guided scientists in expanding their knowledge about geckos and expands the known distribution of the genus in the West and it is said that genus is the more widely dispersed species and many species of the genus are still not known.
The researchers said that the Hemiphyllodactylus goaensis is moderately slow in movement, but active hunters would grab them in their mouths and shake their heads with vigorous movements to tear insects into pieces to eat them.
Researchers said that they have faced threats from “construction and the burning vegetation may lead to habitat loss” and the species are not trusted to be endangered.
Researchers are conducting additional sampling to see whether any other distribution or diversity of genus species exists in Goa and other northern regions. They are also trying to understand the natural habitat of Hemiphyllodactylus goaensis.
Singhal Bhoomi Pawan