Date of Journey: 2nd June 2013
Location: Outskirts of Satara City, Satara District, Maharashtra State, India
Email ID: drakashakinwar@gmail.com
Fan Throated Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana) The fan-throated lizard (Sitana ponticeriana) is a species of agamid lizard found in India,Sri Lanka, and parts of Pakistan. In India this lizard can be found from the base of the Himalayas to Kanyakumari and from the Punjab to West Bengal.
Location: Outskirts of Satara City, Satara District, Maharashtra State, India
Email ID: drakashakinwar@gmail.com
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| Location: Satara district (in blue color) of Maharashtra State, India |
Since my childhood I am
very much fascinated by the beauty & so many varieties of creatures in nature.
Being in the close proximity of nature I observed nature intimately since my childhood
and learnt lot many things from nature. Inspired by the nature which is full of
wonders, surprises and magical creatures, I have decided to explore it more and
since then travelling became my first love of life. Since one decade I have
been travelling across and outside India for various nature trails and jungle
safaris.
One of the most
memorable nature tours in my memory is my visit to the outskirts of Satara
district of Maharashtra state of India in search of Fan Throated Lizard (FTL) in
the year 2013. The stony (rocky) mountain areas outside satara region are the
habitat of this colorful lizard. It’s very easy to find it as one can see them
sitting on the small rocks and blowing out their colorful fan for a period of
few seconds. I can challenge that anyone will be amazed by the beauty of this
lizard considering the general reputation of its class. But before I say anything
about Fan Throated Lizard let’s go through general information about lizards.
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| Fan Throated Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana) showing its tri-colored fan. Photograph By: Dr. Akash Akinwar |
Lizards in general
Lizards are reptiles or members of the class Reptilia and inhabit all of the continents except Antarctica. Lizards live in diverse environments are the most geographically widespread of the reptiles. That makes them the largest group of reptiles with about 5000 species. They have walked the earth for some 200 million years.
Lizards are reptiles or members of the class Reptilia and inhabit all of the continents except Antarctica. Lizards live in diverse environments are the most geographically widespread of the reptiles. That makes them the largest group of reptiles with about 5000 species. They have walked the earth for some 200 million years.
Reptiles
have the following physical features: they have vertebrate, lungs, and scales or plates. They are cold-blooded,
getting all of their heating from
the environment (the sun) which can be deadly during cold spells. What could be
good about that? Well, this allows the reptiles to eat much less than a mammal
of the same weight might. In the desert, for example, this might be useful in
terms of competing for food. Also, since they don't need so much energy from
food to heat themselves they can spend more time basking and taking in the
sites.
Most lizards are
four-legged, but some have only two legs and even a few are leg-less. Lizard’s
size ranges from 2 to 10 ft in length.
Fan Throated Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana) The fan-throated lizard (Sitana ponticeriana) is a species of agamid lizard found in India,Sri Lanka, and parts of Pakistan. In India this lizard can be found from the base of the Himalayas to Kanyakumari and from the Punjab to West Bengal.
The species is found mostly on the open
ground patches in thin forests. When disturbed this lizard sometimes runs with a bipedal gait.
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| Fan Throated Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana): Standing position with fully blown fan. Photograph By: Dr. Akash Akinwar |
The most striking feature about the male of
the species is its fan shaped tissue attached to its throat, starting from neck
till base of the trunk. The tri-colored fan is spectacularly beautiful
consisting of blue, black and orange colors from top to bottom as seen in
photographs. The female of the species is without fan and dull as compared to
the colorful male.
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| Fan Throated Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana). Photograph By: Dr. Akash Akinwar |
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| Female of Fan Throated Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana): Female doesn't have fan. Photograph By: Dr. Akash Akinwar |
Two theories which I have heard about the
colorful fan of this lizard are as follows:
1)
One theory says that the colorful fan is useful to
attract the female for mating that’s why the colors appear in specific months
and shade once mating is over.
2)
The other theory says that the colorful fan is used to
scare the enemies or as a weapon for defense.
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| Fan Throated Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana): Magical lizard of mountain. Photograph By: Dr. Akash Akinwar |
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| Fan Throated Lizard (Sitana ponticeriana): In balancing act. Photograph By: Dr. Akash Akinwar |
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| Dr. Akash Akinwar Email ID: drakashakinwar@gmail.com |
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