TIMES OF INDIA (New Delhi) 18 October 13 Nal, a new home for spiny-tailed lizards
Ahmedabad: Forest officials were jubilant at the first sight of spiny-tailed lizards (STL) in the Nal Sarovar area. And not just one or two -officials spotted a dozen-odd and have found colonies which indicate that the lizards have made Nal Sarovar a permanent home.
T Karuppasamy, deputy conservator of forests, Nalsarovar, said he, senior researcher from Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER) Yashpal Anand and forest staffer Kasam Sidani were on a field visit when they spotted two spiny-tailed lizards. Almost immediately, at least 10 other individuals emerged from their twisted burrows. The reptiles were spotted when they emerged to feed, between Vadala and Malika village in Lakhtar taluka of Surendranagar district.
Indian spiny-tailed lizards are found in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In India, these lizards are confined to the drier areas of the Thar desert in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and parts of Kutch. Spiny-tailed lizards are mostly herbivorous reptiles, and are categorized in Schedule II under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act.
Karuppasamy said STL is on the edge of extinction from the illegal trade of its meat, skin and oil - for believed medicinal value - and habitat destruction though land development.
Characteristics of spiny-tailed lizards
Spiny-tailed lizards excavate twisting burrows for habitation. They hibernate in winter and emerge in spring. For survival through hibernation, the lizard puts on long strips of fat on either side of the backbone. TSL has distinctive tail whorls of spiny scales with large spines on the side. Males range from 40 to 49 cm while females are 34 to 40 cm long. They breeds in spring after emerging from hibernation and lay white pigeon-sized eggs. Spiny-tailed lizards are largely herbivorous and the teeth are adapted to a plant diet of grasses, shrub leaves, flowers and fruits.
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