The Deccan fan-throated lizard (''Sarada deccanensis'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

agamid Agamidae is a family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview Phylogenetically, they may be sister to th ...

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Descriptions

Deccan fan-throated lizard is a small-sized lizard found in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

. Genus ''Sarada'' is a sister group to genus ''

Sitana ''Sitana'' is a genus of lizards, collectively known as the fan-throated lizards, from the family Agamidae. They are found in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The genus comprises fourteen species, including several recently discovered specie ...

'' endemic to India, described by researchers after studying the scale patterns, skeletal structure and other external features. The male of this species displays a brightly colored dewlap during the mating season. Males are mostly active during the hot summer months. Currently, there are 3 different types of fan-throated lizards from genus ''Sarada'' described from India. Out of which, including ''Sarada deccanensis'', ''

Sarada superba ''Sarada superba'', the superb large fan-throated lizard, is a species of agamid lizard found in Maharashtra, India. It was described in 2016 and in the past was part of a complex that included ''Sitana ponticeriana The Pondichéry fan-th ...

'' is found in the Western Ghats.

References

Sarada Reptiles of India Reptiles described in 1870 Taxa named by Thomas C. Jerdon {{agamidae-stub