New Slender Gecko Found in Tirumala
Nearly 30 new reptile species are added to the country’s reptile list every year.
Hyderabad: From field discovery to scientific documentation and description, the Freshwater Biology Regional Centre, Hyderabad, of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), has played a key role in identifying a new species of slender gecko, Hemiphyllodactylus venkatadri, in the Tirumala hill ranges of the Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve in Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Pratyush Mohapatra, senior scientist at ZSI, said the discovery emerged during the institute’s work on reptile species diversity. The species was located in plantation zones on old trees.
“This species, found only in typical forest habitats, was earlier noticed by other scientists but was not formally named or studied. With the help of genetic and molecular studies, we have confirmed this as a new species,” he said.
Researchers said slender geckos under this genus are found abundantly in the Western Ghats, and the institute now plans further exploration in the region. Nearly 30 new reptile species are added to the country’s reptile list every year. The newly identified gecko is smaller than most other geckos and acts as a strong bioindicator, they noted.
This is the second species reported from Andhra Pradesh after Hemiphyllodactylus arakuensis, discovered in Araku. Mohapatra said the institute is now focusing on surveying the Eastern Ghats — a vast and largely unexplored region, much of which lies in Andhra Pradesh. Five scientists from ZSI, along with one scientist each from Nehru Zoological Park and Fakir Mohan University, Odisha, participated in the discovery.
Bharath Bhupathi, a PhD scholar at ZSI, said the survey itself took one year, followed by six months of DNA work and analysis. The new species is closely related to the Jnana species found in Karnataka and other regions, and researchers identified a 10 per cent genetic difference between the sister species, he said. The team added that the species shows lineage traces linked to the Western Ghats. Work is underway to identify and catalogue additional reptile species, he added.