new lizard+junnar

One more new species of lizard discovered in Maharashtra by a scientist of Bombay Natural History Society – a largest species of Hemidactylus from India.
MUMBAI:

The discovery of a new species of ground dwelling lizard Hemidactylus sataraensis by a scientist of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and his team is still making the news. The same scientist is again succeeded in discovering another new species of a lizard from Junnar taluka in Pune district, Maharashtra. This species also belong to the genus Hemidactylus. The geckos belonging to this genus are chiefly arboreal and many of them are commensal to humans. The lizards or geckos which are seen in the house mostly belong to this genus. In India there are 21 species in this genus. This new lizard from Maharashtra is interestingly the largest species of Hemidactylus from India.
This distinctive new species of gecko is chiefly rock dwelling and is known to occur on the rock cliffs in the northern Western Ghats. This gecko was first photographed by renowned herpetologist Mr. Ashok Captain of Pune. He forwarded these photos to Mr. Varad B. Giri, Scientist ‘B’, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai for further identification. Varad worked on the photographs and he realised that it is an interesting species. Subsequently Ashok, Varad and their fellow researcher friend Aparna Watwe from Pune conducted a search and reported more specimens from that region.
Varad meticulously worked on these specimens and realised that this is an interesting and undescribed species. He forwarded the details to Dr. Aaron M. Bauer of Villanova University, USA for further confirmation who agreed with Varad’s views. Dr. Aaron M. Bauer is an expert on lizards and an authority in this group. Varad had submitted his findings to a scientific journal, Hamadryad which are published recently. Varad had named this new species honouring Dr. Bauer as Hemidactylus aaronbaueri.
At present this species is only known from the type locality, which lies in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. Apart from its distinctiveness and ongoing anthropogenic pressure this part of the Western Ghats is unprotected. The discovery of a new, large rock dwelling species of Hemidactylus proves the fact that this region has a unique diversity of herpetofauna. Presently this species is only known from the type locality. But by looking at habitat preference of this species, it is strongly felt that it may be present in other likely regions of the northern Western Ghats and needs immediate attention. This also highlights the need for more intensive systematic surveys in this region to document the diversity. And the data generated will eventually be utilized to conserve the species and its habitats.

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