A colourful gecko species has lived deep in the forests of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in India for several years. However, the organism has been identified as a new species recently.
A molecular phylogenetic study was conducted on the genus Eublepharis Gray, which revealed the presence of a genetically divergent lineage sister to the species Eublepharis hardwickii Gray, 1827. Researchers at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore and Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in Chennai recently re-assessed the taxonomy (branch of science concerned with the classification of organisms) of Eublepharis hardwickii based on the museum material in light of the molecular phylogenetic study. The findings of the new study were recently published in the journal Evolutionary Systematics.
The researchers recognised two species distributed on either side of the Brahmani River in Odisha. The river runs through the Eastern Ghats .
The researchers have presented a redescription of Eublepharis hardwickii, along with the description of a new species, Eublepharis pictus, in the study. Eublepharis pictus is also known as the Painted Leopard Gecko.
What Is Eublepharidae?
Eublepharidae is a lizard family which contains 44 species in six genera distributed in parts of North and Central America, West and East Africa, Middle East, South Asia, and the Malayan Archipelago. The lizard family spans from tropical to temperate latitudes.
Eublepharidae is less diverse compared to other gekkotan lizard families, and is relatively poorly studied in their natural habitats, especially members of the genus Eublepharis, the study said.
Earlier, six species represented the genus Eublepharis. Of these, four have been recorded from India. Eublepharis is the least attended genus in terms of its taxonomy, with few exceptions.
Also, three genetically distinct lineages have been identified in a recent phylogenetic assessment of the genus Eublepharis. One of the three lineages is related to Eublepharis hardwickii, which is distributed in northern Eastern Ghats and parts of Jharkhand and southwest Bengal.
In 1827, British botanist John Edward Gray described the species and stated that the specimen originated from Chittagong, which is likely an error because the species has never been recorded from Bangladesh. After that, the species was recorded from several places in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.
The researchers of the new study recently accessed the systematics of Eublepharis hardwickii. They noted that the presence of two genetically distinct lineages within the Eublepharis hardwickii group advocates the need for a taxonomic intervention.
How Was The Painted Leopard Gecko Identified As A New Species?
The researchers had found a gecko in a water tank near a temple in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, in the year 2017, during a field survey. During that time, the gecko was identified as belonging to the East Indian Leopard Gecko species, Eublepharis hardwickii.
In the recent phylogenetic study, the researchers looked for evolutionary history and relations within and between the leopard gecko species in the genus Eublepharis. The study authors found that what had until then been considered a southern population of East Indian Leopard Gecko might be distinct enough to represent a new species.
After the researchers gathered enough molecular data they could work with, they made morphological comparisons between the species, and looked at specimens across natural history museums.
With the addition of Eublepharis pictus, the gecko genus Eublepharis now contains seven species. Two of these species, namely Eublepharis pictus and Eublepharis satpuraensis, were described by study author Zeeshan Mirza.
All About The Painted Leopard Gecko
The Painted Leopard Gecko has a length of 11.7 centimetres, and is somewhat large for a leopard gecko, the study said. The Brahmani River separates the new species geographically from the East Indian Leopard Gecko, with which it shares a lot of similar traits.
Eublepharis pictus lives in dry evergreen forests mixed with scrub and meadows, and is strictly nocturnal. The gecko species actively forages along trails in the forest after dusk, and licks surfaces as it moves, when it looks for food. This suggests the species night use its tongue as a sensory organ.
The researchers are worried about the conservation of Eublepharis pictus, despite the fact that it seems to be widespread across Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh. Also, the researchers believe that the species would stand more of a chance against humans if more people knew it was actually harmful. They suggest that the species must be listed as Near Threatened based on the prioritisation criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, to ensure that the gecko is protected, until more is known about the size of its populations.