''Sitana'' is a genus of

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 ...

s, collectively known as the fan-throated lizards, from the family

Agamidae 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 the ...

. They are found in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The genus comprises fourteen species, including several recently discovered species, such as two new species from Sri Lanka. In 2016, a new genus named ''

Sarada Sharada or Sarada (Sanskrit for "autumnal") may refer to: * the season spanning the months of Bhadrapada, Ashvin, and Kārtika of the traditional lunar Hindu calendar * Another name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati * Sharada script, abugida writing ...

'' was erected, consisting of one former ''Sitana'' species and two newly described ones. ''Sarada'' is the sister genus of ''Sitana''. Together they form a clade which sister group is ''

Otocryptis ''Otocryptis'' is a genus of agamid lizards from the Indian subcontinent. It is the sister group for the clade formed by ''Sitana'' and '' Sarada''. The divergence is estimated to have occurred about 12 million years ago. ''Otocryptis'' are ter ...

''.

Description

''Sitana'' are small to medium-sized lizards. They are ground dwellers, primarily eating insects but also mollusks and plant seeds. Males measure and females in snout–vent length. In an example of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

, males have prominent dewlaps, similar to

anole Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles () and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat it as a subfami ...

s, which are used in communication during the breeding season. The dewlap may be small to large, depending on the species. Females lack the dewlap.

Species

There are fourteen species that are listed here alphabetically: *''

Sitana devakai ''Sitana devakai'' (Devaka's fan-throated lizard) is an endemic species of agamid lizards recently found from Sri Lanka. The species was first found from Puttalama district. The lizard is also known to found in Tamil Nadu of India, but not give ...

'' Amarasinghe, Ineich & Karunaratna, 2014 – Devaka's fan-throated lizard *'' Sitana dharwarensis'' Ambekar, Murthy, & Mirza 2020 *''

Sitana fusca ''Sitana fusca'', the dark sitana, is a species of agamid lizard endemic to Nepal. Only known from Bardibas (Mahottari District Mahottari District ( ne, महोत्तरी जिल्ला,), a part of Madhesh Province, is one of the ...

'' Schleich & Kästle, 1998 – dark sitana *''

Sitana gokakensis ''Sitana gokakensis'', the Gokak fan-throated lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the ...

'' Deepak, Khandekar, Chaitanya, & Karanth, 2018 – Gokak fan-throated lizard *''

Sitana kalesari ''Sitana kalesari'' is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to 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 ...

'' Bahuguna, 2015 *''

Sitana laticeps ''Sitana laticeps'', the broad-headed fan-throated lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, ...

'' Deepak and Giri, 2016 – broad-headed fan-throated lizard *''

Sitana marudhamneydhal ''Sitana marudhamneydhal'' is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to 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 count ...

'' Deepak, Khandekar, Varma & Chaitanya, 2016 *''

Sitana ponticeriana The Pondichéry fan-throated lizard (''Sitana ponticeriana'') is a species of agamid lizard found in eastern peninsular India. It was earlier thought to be widespread but studies in 2016 resulted in the splitting of the group into several specie ...

'' Cuvier, 1829 – Pondichéry fan-throated lizard *''

Sitana schleichi ''Sitana schleichi'', the Suklaphantah sitana, is a species of agamid lizard endemic to Nepal. Etymology The species is named in honor of German herpetologist Hans Hermann Schleich Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine ...

'' Anders & Kästle, 2002 – Suklaphantah sitana *''

Sitana sivalensis ''Sitana sivalensis'' is a species of agamid lizard endemic to Nepal. Its common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's ...

'' Schleich, Kästle & Shah, 1998; endemic to Nepal – Siwalik sitana *''

Sitana spinaecephalus ''Sitana spinaecephalus'', the spiny-headed fan-throated lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by ...

'' Deepak, Vyas and Giri, 2016 – spiny-headed fan-throated lizard *''

Sitana sushili ''Sitana sushili'', Sushil's fan-throated lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the sec ...

'' Deepak, Tillack, Kar, Sarkar, & Mohapatra, 2021 – Sushil's fan-throated lizard *''

Sitana thondalu ''Sitana thondalu'', the Nagarjuna Sagar fan-throated lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by ar ...

'' Deepak, Khandekar, Chaitanya, & Karanth, 2018 – Nagarjuna Sagar fan-throated lizard *''

Sitana visiri ''Sitana visiri'', the palm leaf fan-throated lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to the Tamil Nadu region of India. Etymology The ''Sitana visiri'' species epithet is derived from the regional Tamil language word for a hand-cr ...

'' Deepak, 2016 – palm leaf fan-throated lizard

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2703958 Sitana Lizard genera Lizards of Asia Taxa named by Georges Cuvier