Sitana is a genus of lizards, collectively known as the fan-throated lizards, in the family Agamidae. They are found in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. The genus comprises fourteen species, including several recently discovered ones, two of which are from Sri Lanka.Anole annals In 2016, a new genus named Sarada 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 whose sister group is Otocryptis.
Description Sitana is genus of small to medium-sized lizards. They are ground dwellers, primarily eating insects but also mollusks and seeds.
Males measure in snout–vent length, and females measure . In an example of convergent evolution, males have prominent dewlaps, similar to anoles, which they use in communication during the breeding season. The dewlap varies in size, from small to large, depending on the species. Females lack the dewlap.
Species There are fifteen species that are listed here alphabetically: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Sitana bahiri Amarasinghe, Ineich & Karunarathna, 2015 Bahir's fan-throated lizard Sri Lanka Sitana devakai Amarasinghe, Ineich & Karunaratna, 2014 Devaka's fan-throated lizard Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu of India, Sitana dharwarensis Ambekar, Murthy, & Mirza 2020 India Sitana fusca Schleich & Kästle, 1998 dark sitanaNepal. Sitana gokakensis Deepak, Khandekar, Chaitanya, & Karanth, 2018 Gokak fan-throated lizard India. Sitana kalesari Bahuguna, 2015 India. Sitana laticeps Deepak and Giri, 2016 broad-headed fan-throated lizard India. Sitana marudhamneydhal Deepak, Khandekar, Varma & Chaitanya, 2016 India Sitana ponticeriana Cuvier, 1829 Pondichéry fan-throated lizardIndia Sitana schleichi Anders & Kästle, 2002 Suklaphantah sitana Nepal. Sitana sivalensis Schleich, Kästle & Shah, 1998; endemic to Nepal Siwalik sitanaNepal.Sitana spinaecephalus Deepak, Vyas and Giri, 2016 spiny-headed fan-throated lizardIndia Sitana sushili Deepak, Tillack, Kar, Sarkar, & Mohapatra, 2021 Sushil's fan-throated lizard India Sitana thondalu Deepak, Khandekar, Chaitanya, & Karanth, 2018 Nagarjuna Sagar fan-throated lizard India Sitana visiri Deepak, 2016 palm leaf fan-throated lizard India
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