Blanford's rock agama (''Psammophilus blanfordanus'') is

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of lizard in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Agamidae Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Peninsular India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. One of two species in the genus, ''P. blanfordanus'' is found mainly to the east of the distribution of '' P. dorsalis''. Unlike the other species, the male ''P. blanfordanus'' in breeding season has the red body color restricted to the head and lacks the broad dorsal stripe.

Etymology

Both the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''blanfordanus'', and the common name, Blanford's rock agama, are in honor of English naturalist

William Thomas Blanford William Thomas Blanford (7 October 183223 June 1905) was an English geologist and naturalist. He is best remembered as the editor of a major series on ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma''. Biography Blanford was born ...

(1832–1905), member of the Geological Survey of India.

Description

Although very similar to ''P. dorsalis'', a specimen of ''P. blanfordanus'' can be separated by several features. ''P. blanfordanus'' has a deeper fold on the front of the

humerus The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a roun ...

. The scales on the body are a little larger, and number from 80 to 100 round the middle of the body. The

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

appear keeled and imbricated. When the hind leg is stretched forward and held along the body, it reaches the eye or extends beyond it. Often, a small spine is found behind the edge of the brow-ridge of the eye, and a few enlarged scales are scattered on the sides. Young lizards are olive-brown above, spotted or marbled with brown very similar to the female, but often have a series of large, lozenge-shaped, dark brown spots with pale centres on the back and tail. The adult male is much like ''P. dorsalis'', but in the summer breeding season, the head and anterior part of the body of the males become scarlet or red while the posterior parts are nearly black. ''P. blanfordanus'' is found mainly on rocks. The male displays by head nodding. xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (''Psammophilus blanfordanus'', new combination, p. 210). Snout-to-vent length (SVL) is about , and the tail is about long. Females are slightly smaller than males.

Behaviour

''P. blanfordanus'' spends most of its time resting or basking under the sun. Excess heat causes it to rest inside water holes to decrease overall body temperature.

Diet

The diet of ''P. blanfordanus'' consists of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

Reproduction

''P. blanfordanus'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

Distribution

''P. blanfordanus'' is common on many of the hills from Chota Nagpur, as high as Parasnath Hill to ,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and extending south along the

Godavari The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...

Districts, hills of the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

. The southernmost record appears to be Talayar in Travancore, where a specimen was collected by Harold S. Ferguson at . Boulenger GA (1891). "Description of a New Species of Lizard obtained by Mr. H. S. Ferguson in

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

, Southern India". ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' 6 (4): 449. (''Lygosoma subcæruleum'', new species).

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3016524 Psammophilus Reptiles of India Reptiles described in 1871 Taxa named by Ferdinand Stoliczka