Eublepharis is a small genus in the lizard family Eublepharidae, which contains 44 species in six genera distributed in parts of North and Central America, West and East Africa, Middle East, South Asia and the Malayan Archipelago.
First described in 1827, the genus is currently represented by seven species of which five are known from India.
The newly-discovered species, Eublepharis pictus, occurs in the Indian states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
It measures 11.7 cm (4.6 inches) in length and prefers dry evergreen forests mixed with scrub and meadows.
“Eublepharis pictus is strictly nocturnal and has been observed actively foraging along trails in the forest after dusk,” said Zeeshan Mirza from the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore and Chandrashekaruni Gnaneswar of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust.
Lead Image: The painted leopard gecko (Eublepharis pictus) in life from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Image credit: Zeeshan A. Mirza.
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