The biodiverse forests of Western Ghats have thrown up yet another marvel of evolution – a new species of tiny lizards, which researchers have described as a “diminutive dragon.”
- Agasthyagama edge or the northern kangaroo lizard, which belongs to the Agamidae family, is known to have a maximum snout-vent length of 4.3 cm.
- A group of scientists from various institutions in India and abroad discovered the new species from the southern Western Ghats at Kulamavu in Idukki.
- The species is the second one of the Agasthyagama genus after A. beddomii or Indian kangaroo lizard that has been previously reported from Sivagiri hills in Tamil Nadu.
- It has been named after the Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) programme of the Zoological Society of London that has supported several researchers.
