Found species thought to be extinct after 135 years

Gekkonidae, the oldest family lizard in the group of modern lizards with a unique body structure has just been discovered in the Eastern Ghats, India.

Geckoella Jeyporensis , a small lizard species (only 10cm long) has been considered extinct for 135 years. Recently, scientists were extremely happy to discover its existence in the Eastern Ghats in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, India.

The rediscovery of this species is the result of a collaboration between the Center for Morphological Sciences of the Indian Academy of Sciences (CES-IISc), Bangalore City; Bombay Natural History Association, Mumbai city and Villanova University, USA. Hamadryad's prestigious magazine has confirmed this discovery.

Gekoella Jeyporensis was found after 135 years. (Photo: Thehindu)

Varad Giri, a scientist with Bombay Natural History Association (BNHS), told IANS: "This is a lizard belonging to the Gekkonidae family, the family of the oldest lizards in the group of modern lizards. It is known only in 1877. A British officer, Colonel RH Beddome in Jeypore, Orissa state, discovered the only specimen of this species. "

For the past 135 years, scientists have failed to trace this unique lizard. Because there are very few records of this particular lizard species, scientists have tried to follow the journey of Colonel Beddom in East Ghat more than a century ago.

From 2008-2009, Ishan Agarwal, a graduate student of CES-IISc, sought to find lost species to learn evolutionary history. When there is a belief that this lizard is still alive, Aniruddha Datta-Roy, another graduate student and Tarun Khichi participated in the search.

After a failed attempt, the team tried their luck again in 2011. This time, they succeeded. They found this lizard in a forest at an altitude of 1280m on the hill of Patinghe, Jeypore in the Eastern Ghats.

Andhra Pradesh. Agarwal said happily: "Be persistent and need some luck. In the end, we were rewarded. This is a meaningful addition to the 190 lizards currently living in India."

After interesting discoveries, Giri and Aaron Bauer of Villanova University, USA, studied the taxonomy of species. They confirmed 'rediscovering extinct lizards'.

This is the only species in India with six-sided horns that extend as long scales on the back. It is also the most beautiful lizard with a yellow-brown back and lots of streaks of streaked chocolate. This species has unique morphology and endemism. They live only in an area of ​​geographical or ecosystem identification that is clearly the Eastern Ghats, in the forest at an altitude of over 1,000 meters.

This finding warns authorities to promote protection of this area and the flora and fauna that inhabit it. Because biodiversity in the Eastern Ghats is richer than we thought. And other species are probably not really extinct, they are waiting to be discovered.