First record of Takydromus sikkimensis Günther, 1888 (Squamata, Lacertidae) from Nepal

Abstract

We report the first record of Sikkim grass lizard, Takydromus sikkimensis Günther, 1888 in Nepal based on morphological characters such as the presence of four pairs of femoral pores, 12 rows of ventral scales, tail more than 3.6 times longer than snout-vent length. Our record of T. sikkimensis at Miklajung, Morang district represents the western-most observation of the species, ca. 94 km west of its type locality, Sikkim, India and is the first in Nepal for this species, genus, and family. This record is from Chure/Siwalik hill range which lies outside of Nepal’s protected area network. This species is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and warrants detailed inventory and immediate conservation interventions.

Exploring Sound Emission of the Lizard Pristidactylus valeriae

“…In fact, for many species, the available information on oral sound production is just anecdotal, e.g., [18], as has been pointed out in, e.g., [12,19]. In addition, some studies that describe these sounds are based on small sample sizes, either because few vocalizations were analyzed or because a small number of individuals were included, e.g., [20,21]. Although these data support the relatively low occurrence of oral sound production in lizards, these findings, in conjunction with growing documentation of sound production in more species, provide an impetus to continue gathering more and better information and build a solid base to tackle evolutionary questions on lizard oral sound production.…”