A new species of lizard discovered by a team of researchers in Umroi Military station in Meghalaya has been named in honour of the valour of Indian army.
The new species discovered as part of the research team's efforts to uncover herpetofaunal diversity of North East India was given scientific name as Cyrtodactylus exercitus (In Latin exercitus means army). The English name of the species was given as Indian army’s bent-toed gecko.
"The name was given to honour Indian army for their services to our motherland. The genus Cyrtodactylus is represented by around 320 species worldwide and is the third most speciose vertebrate genus in the world. The members of the genus range from South Asia to Melanesia with high diversity in south Asia. North East India is now home to 16 species of bent-toed gecko," said Jayaditya Purkayastha, a herpetalogist and general secretary of Help Earth, an NGO based in Guwahati.
The team discovered another species of bent-toed gecko from Siaha district in Mizoram and was named after the district. The new species from Mizoram has been given a scientific name as Cyrtodactylus siahaensis and English name as Siaha bent-toed gecko.
The finding of the study was published in European Journal of Taxonomy recently.
The research team comprised of Jayaditya Purkayastha and Sanath Chandra Bohra of Help Earth, Yashpal Singh Rathee of Umroi Military Station, Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga, Vabeiryureilai Mathipi, Lal Biakzuala and Lal Muansanga of department of Zoology, Mizoram University and Beirathie Litho of RMSA School Lobo, Mizoram.
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(Published 18 February 2022, 10:12 IST)
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