''Sitana'' is a genus of

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s, collectively known as the fan-throated lizards, from the family

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 ...

. They are found in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The genus comprises fourteen species, including several recently discovered species, such as two new species from Sri Lanka. In 2016, a new genus named ''

Sarada Sharada or Sarada (Sanskrit for "autumnal") may refer to: * the season spanning the months of Bhadrapada, Ashvin, and Kārtika of the traditional lunar Hindu calendar * Another name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati * Sharada script, abugida writin ...

'' was erected, consisting of one former ''Sitana'' species and two newly described ones. ''Sarada'' is the sister genus of ''Sitana''. Together they form a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

which sister group is ''

Otocryptis ''Otocryptis'' is a genus of Agamidae, agamid lizards from the Indian subcontinent. It is the sister group for the clade formed by ''Sitana'' and ''Sarada (lizard), Sarada''. The divergence is estimated to have occurred about 12 million years ago ...

''.

Description

''Sitana'' are small to medium-sized lizards. They are ground dwellers, primarily eating insects but also mollusks and plant seeds. Males measure and females in snout–vent length. In an example of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

, males have prominent dewlaps, similar to

anole Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles () and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat it as a subfami ...

s, which are used in communication during the breeding season. The dewlap may be small to large, depending on the species. Females lack the dewlap.

Species

There are fourteen species that are listed here alphabetically: *'' Sitana devakai'' Amarasinghe, Ineich & Karunaratna, 2014 – Devaka's fan-throated lizard *'' Sitana dharwarensis'' Ambekar, Murthy, & Mirza 2020 *'' Sitana fusca'' Schleich & Kästle, 1998 – dark sitana *'' Sitana gokakensis'' Deepak, Khandekar, Chaitanya, & Karanth, 2018 – Gokak fan-throated lizard *'' Sitana kalesari'' Bahuguna, 2015 *'' Sitana laticeps'' Deepak and Giri, 2016 – broad-headed fan-throated lizard *'' Sitana marudhamneydhal'' Deepak, Khandekar, Varma & Chaitanya, 2016 *''

Sitana ponticeriana The Pondichéry fan-throated lizard (''Sitana ponticeriana'') is a species of agamid lizard found in eastern peninsular India. It was earlier thought to be widespread but studies in 2016 resulted in the splitting of the group into several specie ...

'' Cuvier, 1829 – Pondichéry fan-throated lizard *'' Sitana schleichi'' Anders & Kästle, 2002 – Suklaphantah sitana *''

Sitana sivalensis ''Sitana sivalensis'' is a species of agamid lizard endemic to Nepal. Its common name is the Siwalik sitana References Other references * Schleich & Kästle, 1998: ''Sitana fusca spec. nov., a further species from the Sitana sivalensis- compl ...

'' Schleich, Kästle & Shah, 1998; endemic to Nepal – Siwalik sitana *'' Sitana spinaecephalus'' Deepak, Vyas and Giri, 2016 – spiny-headed fan-throated lizard *'' Sitana sushili'' Deepak, Tillack, Kar, Sarkar, & Mohapatra, 2021 – Sushil's fan-throated lizard *'' Sitana thondalu'' Deepak, Khandekar, Chaitanya, & Karanth, 2018 – Nagarjuna Sagar fan-throated lizard *'' Sitana visiri'' Deepak, 2016 – palm leaf fan-throated lizard

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2703958 Sitana Lizard genera Lizards of Asia Taxa named by Georges Cuvier