New lizard species found in Junagadh named after Gujarat

The Hemidactylus Gujaratensis — which typically measures a little shorter than five-inches in length — was found in October 2007 by Raju Vyas and Sunny Patil,who are both members of one of India’s most prestigious nature organisations,the Bombay Natural History Society.

Vyas currently lives in Vadodara and works as a herpetologist with the Sayaji Baug Zoo. Patil is from Mumbai. Hemidactylus Gujaratensis,according to Vyas,Patil,and two other naturalists with whom they wrote a paper on the gecko that was published in the Journal of Herpetology two years later,is the second gecko species to have been discovered that is unique to Gujarat — the other is Hemidactylus Porbandarensis,discovered in 1981 by R C Sharma at Porbandar.

They also pointed out Gujarat may have many more species waiting to be discovered,“The unique position of Gujarat,at the junction of the northern end of the western Ghats and a diversity of arid and semi-arid habitats that extend northward and eastward into Rajasthan and southern Pakistan,suggests that reptile diversity may yet be underestimated.”

Talking specifically of the area in which Hemidactylus Gujaratensis was found,they also issued a warning,“The large influx of tourists represents a growing anthropogenic pressure on the type locality. To mitigate associated threats,proper conservation measures should be taken to protect the habitat of this species.”