A team of researchers recently discovered a new species of bent-toed gecko or lizard, from Umroi Military station in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya.

Key Facts

• The new species of Gecko or lizard belongs to the family of Cyrtodactylus exercitus (‘exercitus’ means army, in Latin).
• It has been named to honour the valour of Indian Army for their services to India.
• These new species was discovered as part of efforts of research team, to uncover herpetofaunal diversity of North East India.

Genus Cyrtodactylus

The genus Cyrtodactylus is represented by about 320 species across the world. It is the third most speciose vertebrate genus worldwide. Members of the genus range from South Asia to Melanesia. There is high diversity of the species in south Asia. North East India has now become home to 16 species of bent-toed gecko.

Where was the species discovered?

The new species of bent-toed gecko or Cyrtodactylus, from family of Cyrtodactylus khasiensis, was discovered from Lunglei District of Mizoram. It is named as Cyrtodactylus lungleiensis. These geckos can be differentiated from other such species by a bent toe, which is similar to that of bird’s toe. The bent-toed geckos reside only in the wild amid rocks, bushes, and woods. This is the third discovery of a Cyrtodactylus species in Mizoram.