The lizards found in Makwanpurgarhi of Makwanpur and Hariharpur area of Sindhuli have also been named.
Two new species of lizards have been found in Nepal. A team of conservationists found a new species of lizard in Makwanpur and Sindhuli.
Bent-toed gecko i.e. this lizard belonging to Mausuli family has been found in Makwanpurgarhi of Makwanpur and Hariharpur area of Sindhuli and has been identified and named. Santosh Bhattarai, a conservationist, informed that the species has been proven new to the world and has been published in the international journal "Jookies" just two days ago. Bhattarai is studying lizards at Federation University Australia.
According to him, those two species were found in the Chure (Siwalik) range. Although the Chure region is rich in biodiversity, it is an understudied area . Bhattarai's team found the species in June-July 2024 and confirmed the new species, which was recently published in the journal.
The name of the lizard found in Makwanpurgarhi is 'Makwanpurgarhi bent-toed gecko' and The lizard found in the Chure mountain range of Hariharpur in Sindhuli has been named 'Chure bent-toed gecko'.
There are more than 380 species of these lizards belonging to the Gekkonidae family around the world, while only seven species have been found in Nepal, including the two found now. Out of which five species were found and named by the group led by Bhattarai.
Since the government and organizations of Nepal that protect biological diversity are focused only on large mammals, it is said that many species are yet to be recorded in Nepal. Conservationists have said that all stakeholders should prioritize the study and conservation of reptiles and other understudied species. Conservators Bhattarai, Vivek Gautam, Vishal Neupane, India's Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray, Ishan Aggarwal, Australia's Ash Olson, Fiona Hogan and Wendy Wright participated in the
study.
According to Karan Shah, a senior conservationist, the said team recently found this insect of the Mausuli family, which is a grasshopper-eating lizard. It works to protect crops by eating things that damage crops and clothes, and this lizard is also food for many animals. So it plays an important role in balancing the overall system and it is also used as medicine.
One of the three species discovered last year was named 'Karan bent-toad gecko' after Shah.
