A team of researchers have discovered a new species of skink at Anaikatti hills in Coimbatore in the Western Ghats.
- It is an Asian gracile skink named “Subdoluseps nilgiriensis,” closely related to Subdoluseps pruthi found in parts of the Eastern Ghats.
- The reptile has a slender body of just about 7 cm and is sandy brown in colour.
- This species is only the third skink species discovered from mainland India in the last millennium.
- Skinks are non-venomous. They resemble snakes because of the often-inconspicuous limbs and the way they move on land.
- Most skinks are diurnal and are usually secretive. Being elusive, not much is known about their natural and evolutionary history.
(Source: The Hindu)
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