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Context

• A team of researchers from the Mizoram University and the MaxPlanck Institute for Biology, Tubingen, Germany, found a new species of gecko in Mizoram along the Indo-Myanmar border.

Details

• This new species can glide and researchers have termed it a parachute gecko.
• Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards found in warm climates throughout the world.
• What makes them unique is their vocalisation and loud mating calls.

Location

• The species found inhabiting Mizoram, has previously been discovered in parts of South Asia including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Taxanomy

• These flying, parachute, or gliding geckos are a subgenus called Ptychozoon of the Gekko genus.

Distribution

• There are 13 species of them throughout the world and they are found in Southeast Asia.
• Among them, only one species Ptychozoon lionotum or smooth-backed gliding gecko-was found in Mizoram.
  • New species differed from the Ptychozoon lionotum. There is a 21 per cent difference in DNA of both species and there were morphological variations too.

Description

• The new species, which is around 20 cm in length, is an arboreal that lives on trees.
• It can glide from one tree to another and is
• Those found in residential areas are usually seen on the exterior walls of buildings.

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About Gecko: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/chengodumala-dwarf-gecko

PRACTICE QUESTION Q) Which of the following statements with reference to Parachute Gecko is/are incorrect? 1. It can glide from one tree to another and is nocturnal. 2. They are small, mostly carnivorous lizards found in warm climates throughout the world. a. 1 only b. 2 only c. Both 1 and 2 d. Neither 1 nor 2 Correct Answer: b

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/science/story/mysterious-new-species-of-flying-gecko-discovered-in-mizoram-2380367-2023-05-17