Kingdom Animalia Suborder Lacertilia Subfamily Agaminae Scientific name Brachysaura minor Rank Species | Class Reptilia Family Agamidae Genus Brachysaura Phylum Chordata Order Scaled reptiles | |
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Similar Bufoniceps laungwalaensis, Lophocalotes, Phoxophrys, Aphaniotis, Scaled reptiles | ||
Hardwicke's bloodsucker (Brachysaura minor) is an agamid lizard and the only species of the genus Brachysaura and found in South Asia.
Contents
Morphology
Physical Structure: This is a small stocky and pot-belly lizard with a short tail. Its head large and elongated, flat above, sloping towards snout. Its dorsal scales larger, strongly imbricate and keeled, pointing backward and upward, ventral scales smaller than dorsal; upper head scales larger, unequal, strongly keeled or tubercular. Females are larger than the males.
Color Pattern: Dorsal color is olive-brown with 3 rows of dark-brown light edged spots on the back and base of the tail; spots of middle row are most prominent and rhomboidal; a white streak on each side of the neck is bifurcating behind and an oblique one from the eye to the angle of mouth; limbs are with dark-brown cross bars; throat is profusely spotted with dark-brown and orange; belly is yellowish-white with numerous orange dots. Color inside the mouth is ink-blue. Females are more brilliantly colored during breeding season.
Length: Maximum:18 cm, Common:10 cm. (Snout to vent 6 cm.).
Maximum published weight: ? g.
Distribution
Found in Bangladesh (south-east part of the country), India (Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odissa) and Pakistan (Sindh).
Vernacular names
Bengali: আগামা গিরিগিটি, পাতি রক্তচোষা, পাতিয়াল গিরিগিটি (Patial girigiti), হার্ডউইকের গিরিগিটি।
English: Dwarf rock agama, Hardwicke's bloodsucker, Hardwicke's short-tail agama and Lesser agama.
Hindi & Indian other Languages: ?
Urdu & Sindhi: ?
Habitat
This lizard is Terrestrial & sometimes arboreal; inhabits in frequently fragmented dry forest, arid environments, barren desert and desolate areas across the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Habit
This lizard is diurnal & crepuscular. It takes shelters in burrows close to the roots of thorny bushes. Generally it is found sitting on stones, but it can climb up to shrubby vegetation. It is sluggish in movements, often not attempting to escape when approached. It is a docile species.
Diet
This lizard is mainly insectivorous; feeds on grasshoppers and their nymphs, earwigs, beetles, bugs, arthropods and spiders. Sometimes it also eats flowers.
Reproduction
This lizard is oviparous; breeding season extends from April to June; lays 4-6 hard shelled white eggs in burrows under the roots of vegetation.
Importance & Uses
There is no known practical uses of this species but play rolls in Eco-system by eating various types of insects and otherwise.
Threat to humans
This lizard is non-venomous and completely harmless to humans.
IUCN threat status
Data deficient (DD).
Etymology
Brachysaura is a monotypic genus of agamid lizard, Agamidae. The Genus-name Brachysaura derived from two Greek words; one ‘βραχύς (brachýs)’, meaning ‘short’ and other ‘σαύρα (saura)’, meaning ‘lizard’, i.e., short or short tailed lizard and the species-name minor, a Latin word, meaning ‘less’ or ‘smaller’, also referring to the smaller size of this agamid.