Sitana devakai AMARASINGHE, INEICH & KARUNARATHNA, 2015
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Sitana devakai
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Devaka’s Fan-throated Lizard Sinhala (local): Devakagë Theli Katussa French: Sitane de Devaka |
| Synonym | Sitana devakai AMARASINGHE, INEICH & KARUNARATHNA in AMARASINGHE et al. 2015 Litana Ponticereana [sic] — KELAART 1854 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — SMITH 1935 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — TAYLOR 1957 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — WERMUTH 1967 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI & LIYANAGE 1994 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — ERDELEN 1998 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — DAS & DE SILVA 2005 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — DE SILVA 2006 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — SOMAWEERA & SOMAWEERA 2009 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana — MANTHEY 2010 [partim] Sitana ponticeriana ponticeriana — DERANIYAGALA 1953 [partim] Sitana ponticertiana [sic]—BAHIR & SURASINGHE 2005 [partim] |
| Distribution | Sri Lanka, India (Tamil Nadu) Type locality: Nagagamuwa-Puttalam, Sri Lanka (8°10′N, 79°50′E), elevation 2 m |
| Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: NMSL (= WHT) 0111E, Male, SVL 45.6 mm, collected by K. Manamendra-Arachchi & D. Gabadage, 9 October 1993. Paratypes. Males, NMSL (= WHT) 0174A–B, respective SVL 41.1 mm and 40.0 mm, collected at Palavi-Puttalam, Sri Lanka; Male, NMSL (= WHT) 1417, SVL 43.9 mm, collected at Angamuwewa-Rajanganaya, Sri Lanka; Male, NMSL (= WHT) 1424A, SVL 39.9 mm, collected at Mundel-Puttalam, Sri Lanka; Female, NMSL (= WHT)0174C, SVL 42.7 mm, collected at Palavi- Puttalam, Sri Lanka; Females, NMSL (= WHT) 0111B–C, respective SVL 42.0 mm and 44.9 mm, collected at Nagagamuwa- Puttalam, Sri Lanka; Sub adult male, NMSL (= WHT) 1424B, SVL 38.6 mm, collected at Mundel-Puttalam, Sri Lanka; Sub adult females, NMSL (= WHT) 0111A,D, respective SVL 37.6 mm and 38.1 mm, collected at Nagagamuwa-Puttalam, Sri Lanka. All those specimens were collected by D. Gabadage. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (adult males). Sitana devakai sp. nov. differs from each congener by having the following characters: S. bahiri sp. nov.: longer throat-fan ADW 29.9–32.5% of AG (vs. shorter, ADW 28.3–29.2% of AG), midbody scale rows 57–59 (vs. 49–56), ventral scale number 100–108 (vs. 87–89), abdominal scales pointed (vs. bluntly pointed), equal and regular lateral scales with intermediate enlarged scales (vs. unequal and irregular lateral scales with intermediate enlarged scales), breeding-males with bright red colour patch (vs. bleached orange colour patch); S. deccanensis: smaller SVL 40.0–45.6 mm (vs. larger SVL above 60.0 mm), snout longer ES 57.2–63.2% of HW (vs. shorter, ES 53.1–53.4% of HW), throat-fan shorter ADW 29.9–32.5% of AG (vs. longer, ADW 50.3–60.2% of AG), femur shorter FEL 72.2–78.4% of TBL (vs. longer, FEL 79.7–82.9% of TBL), foot longer FOL 154.7–180.2 of HL (vs. shorter, FOL 131.9–144.6% of HL), supralabials 8–9 (vs. 12), midbody scale rows 57–59 (vs. 66–70), ventral scale number 100–108 (vs. 82–92), subdigital lamellae on toe III 15–16 (vs. 13), enlarged scales above the tympanum present (vs. absent), lateral scales with intermediate enlarged scales (vs. without enlarged scales), breeding-males with bright red colour patch restricted to mid throat-fan (vs. bright red patch extending to vent), single pale stripe running from the snout up to the shoulder (vs. 3–4 bright stripes from snout and behind the eye up to the shoulders); S. ponticeriana: femur shorter FEL 72.2–78.4% of TBL (vs. longer, FEL 80.0–84.8% of TBL), ventral scale number 100–108 (vs. 65–69), abdominal scales pointed (vs. rounded); Sitana sivalensis complex: throat-fan extending up to the chest (vs. not extending to the level of axilla), foot longer with FOL 154.7–180.2 of HL (vs. shorter, FOL 120.0–144.3% of HL). |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The species epithet is an eponym Latinised in the genitive singular, honouring Prof. Devaka Keerthi Weerakoon, for his remarkable contributions to biodiversity conservation in Sri Lanka. He worked as the Technical Advisor of the 2007 and 2012 Red Lists of Threatened Fauna and Flora in Sri Lanka and was responsible for their publication. As a consultant to the Department of Wildlife Conservation, he has provided technical support for the preparation and implementation of protected areas, produced management plans, managed alien invasive species programs in protected areas, mapped habitats, carried out protected area gap analyses programs and conducted bird surveys. His contributions to the ecology of Asian elephants and reduction of human-elephant conflicts are remarkable. |
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