A team of researchers from Mizoram University and the Max Planck Institute for Biology has discovered a new species of the gecko genus Gekko living in the Indian state of Mizoram.
“The gekkonid genus Gekko contains morphologically diverse lizards represented by 86 species distributed across South and Southeast Asia,” said lead author Zeeshan Mirza, a Ph.D. student at the Max Planck Institute for Biology, and his colleagues from Mizoram University.
“The genus comprises members with fascinating adaptations like elaborate skin flaps to facilitate gliding members of the subgenus Ptychozoon.”
“Commonly known as parachute geckos, Ptychozoon geckos are nocturnal, arboreal creatures with a lifestyle that revolves around crypsis and paragliding from one tree to another.”
“The structure of dipterocarp forests has been hypothesized as a driver of paragliding among certain Southeast Asian geckos, agamas, snakes and other vertebrates.”
“Despite their high degree of morphological adaptation, these geckos were found to be phylogenetically embedded within the genus Gekko and are currently treated as a subgenus, Ptychozoon.”
“It contains 13 species, however, with further study more species are likely to be discovered throughout its range.”
“In nearly all species of this subgenus, camouflage is enhanced by enlarged skin flaps along the head, body, limbs and tail, preventing the casting of shadows outlining the body while perched motionlessly on the substrate.”
In their research, Mirza and co-authors studied the Indian population of the parachute gecko (Gekko lionotum).
Their morphology and molecular data suggested that the population represents a distinct species.
Scientifically named Gekko mizoramensis, the new species differs from all other members of the genus Gekko — other than the subgenus Ptychozoon — in bearing membranes along the forelimbs, trunk and hind limbs.
It also differs from all other Ptychozoon species by exhibiting a unique…
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