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| Sitana dharwarensis Ambekar, Murthy & Mirza, 2020 |
Abstract
A new species of fan-throated lizard of the genus Sitana Cuvier, 1829 is described from northern Karnataka, India. The new species is similar to members of the clade of Sitana spinaecephalus Deepak et al., 2016, however, can be distinguished based on morphological as well as molecular data. Sitana dharwarensis sp. nov. differs from its sister species, S. laticeps Deepak & Giri, 2016 in bearing a much larger dewlap. Data from micro-CT scan of the cranium and jaws further add support to the distinctness of the new species. The rivers, namely Krishna and Tungabhadra, likely act as a biogeographic barrier for terrestrial lizard species.
A new species of fan-throated lizard of the genus Sitana Cuvier, 1829 is described from northern Karnataka, India. The new species is similar to members of the clade of Sitana spinaecephalus Deepak et al., 2016, however, can be distinguished based on morphological as well as molecular data. Sitana dharwarensis sp. nov. differs from its sister species, S. laticeps Deepak & Giri, 2016 in bearing a much larger dewlap. Data from micro-CT scan of the cranium and jaws further add support to the distinctness of the new species. The rivers, namely Krishna and Tungabhadra, likely act as a biogeographic barrier for terrestrial lizard species.
Key words. Reptilia, mtDNA, molecular phylogeny, micro-CT scan, taxonomy.
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| Fig. 4. Sitana dharwarensis sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (NCBSAL142) dewlap in life. |
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| Fig. 3. Sitana dharwarensis sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (NCBS-AL142) in life. |
Sitana dharwarensis sp. nov.
Diagnosis. Sitana dharwarensis sp. nov. is a large sized
species in relation to members of the Sitana spinaecephalus clade, males reaching SVL of 52 mm. Dewlap large,
coloration in breeding males cream to off-white, extending up to 47% of the trunk. Parietal bone with a subtle
indentation on the anterior border, maxillary bone short
in its length and covers a smaller area of the snout, squamosal long and slender gradually tapering at both ends in
a sharp tip and, quadrate robust and stout.
Sitana dharwarensis sp. nov. differs from most known
species within the genera Sitana and Sarada Deepak
et al., 2016 in bearing a white colored moderately large
dewlap (vs. dewlap in shades of red, blue and black in
Sarada spp., Sitana visiri Deepak, 2016, S. attenboroughii Sadasivan et al., 2018, S. marudhamneydhal
Deepak et al., 2016, S. bahiri Amarasinghem et al. 2015,
S. devakai Amarasinghe et al., 2015). The new species
is similar to S. laticeps and S. spinaecephalus in sharing
a white dewlap. It differs from S. laticeps in bearing a
much larger dewlap, dewlap extending to about 47% of the trunk (vs. 29% in S. laticeps, 45% in S. spinaecephalus). Sitana dharwarensis sp. nov. further differs from
S. laticeps in bearing a subtle indentation on the anterior
border of parietal (vs. a deep indentation in S. laticeps,
Fig. 2), the maxillary bone is short and covers a smaller
area of the snout (vs. much longer and covering a larger
area of the snout in S. laticeps), the squamosal is long
and slender gradually tapering at both ends in a sharp
tip (vs. squamosal short, abruptly ending in a blunt tip
at both ends), quadrate is robust and stout (vs. slender in
S. laticeps, Fig. 2).
Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the Dharwar
Craton where the species is distributed.
Mayuresh Ambekar, Arya Murthy and Zeeshan A. Mirza. 2020. A New Species of Fan-throated Lizard of the Genus Sitana Cuvier, 1829 (Squamata: Agamidae) from northern Karnataka, India. Bonn zoological Bulletin. 69(2); DOI: 10.20363/BZB-2020.69.2.157
