Rare scaly creatures — one pregnant — seen for first time in east India forest
In the hills of eastern India, in a region carved by deep river valleys and dense rainforests, two scaly creatures slept perched on different branches of the same tree.
To the surprise of the researchers surveying the forest, they had stumbled upon two Calotes zolaiking, a species of mountain lizard previously only known from Mizoram, a state about 120 miles west, according to a May 30 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
The sighting marks the first time the species has been recorded outside of the region where it was first discovered in 2019, researchers said.
One of the two lizards was a pregnant female, according to the study. This finding sheds light on the reproductive cycles of the species and indicates it breeds during pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons, researchers said.
Calotes zolaiking are about 5 inches long and their bodies are various shades of green with dark patches throughout. They are 'strongly keeled,' meaning each of the lizard's long scales has a ridge in the middle, giving it a sharper overall appearance, according to the study.
Because the rainforests of Meghalaya are connected to the hills of Mizoram by other forests, the species may have 'continuous distribution throughout and around' this whole region, researchers said.
Meghalaya is part of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot, and the region holds a large number of endemic species, or species found nowhere else in the world, according to the study.
It ranks as one of the most vital and irreplaceable hotspots worldwide., according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
It is also one of the top five most threatened hotspots due to human-related pressures. More people live in this hotspot than any other in the world, according to the group.
Researchers said continuous and comprehensive surveys of the contiguous forests are necessary in light of increasing habitat loss.
Meghalaya includes the East Khasi Hills District near the border of Bangladesh.
The research team included Sanath Chandra Bohra, Chunglallian Ranglong, Goldenstar Thongni, Banyllashisha Wankhar, Cynthia Mylliem Umlong, Madhurima Das, Holiness Warjri, and Jayaditya Purkayastha.
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