TN biologist finds elusive green lizard

Coimbatore: A conservation biologist from Tamil Nadu recently spotted a common green forest lizard (Calotes calotes), an elusive species found in the deep forests of the Western Ghats, Shevaroy Hills in Salem and in Sri Lanka, in the backyard of a house at Chittur in Palakkad district of Kerala.
Q Ashoka Chakkaravarthy, 44, a postgraduate in Environmental Biology and a faculty at Attur Reach Academy in Salem, said the new habitat might be the first recorded in Chittur.
“Common green forest lizard is a large species of Agamidae family. The body colouration is generally green. It has a long tail. In India, the species has been reported in Kumarakom, Manneera, Alappuzha, Nedumpura, Uppukunnu and some parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka,” he told TOI.
Species like these are becoming extinct due to urbanisation, Ashoka said. “The principal threat to the lizard population is from habitat destruction caused by human activities and road kills.”
“There are not many publications on the species in India. More studies should be carried out to record their locations,” Ashoka added.