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New species of flying gecko found in Mizoram; named after state
Like other flying geckos, the new species, which is around 20 cm in length, is arboreal (living in trees) and flies from one tree to another and nocturnal
Researchers of Mizoram University and Max Planck Institute for Biology , Tubingen, Germany have discovered a new species of flying gecko in Mizoram.
Details of the study on the species of the gliding or parachute gecko, were published on Monday in the latest issue of Salamandra, a German journal on herpetology, or the study of amphibians and reptiles.
The new species has been named Gekko mizoramensis after the northeastern state.
“These flying, parachute or gliding geckos are a subgenus called Ptychozoon of the Gekko genus. There are 13 species of them (throughout the world and they are found in Southeast Asia. Of them only one species, Ptychozoon lionotum or smooth-backed gliding gecko was found in Mizoram,” said HT Lalremsanga, head of Mizoram University’s zoology department and one of the authors of the study.
“But when we collected specimens of this gecko from different parts of Mizoram including wildlife sanctuary in Kolasib district, Dampa Tiger Reserve and Lawngtlai district and conducted studies on it including its DNA, we found that it was a distinct species,” he added.
Like other flying geckos, the new species, which is around 20 cm in length, is arboreal (living in trees), glides from one tree to another and is nocturnal. Those found in residential areas are usually seen on exterior walls of buildings. Flying geckos have webbed limbs and flat tails to help them glide (they do not really fly).
“On comparison of the new species with others, it was found that it differed from the Ptychozoon lionotum, (the species it was earlier believed to be), which is found primarily in Myanmar around 700 km away from habitat of the new species. There is nearly 21% difference in DNA of both species and there were morphological variations too,” said Lalremsanga.
As the new species has been found in different parts of Mizoram, the researchers decided to name it after the state.
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