Class Reptilia Family Agamidae Rank Species | Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Iguania Subfamily Draconinae Phylum Chordata Order Scaled reptiles | |
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Similar Salea, Salea anamallayana, Otocryptis beddomei, Scaled reptiles, Calotes nemoricola | ||
Salea horsfieldii, commonly known as Horsfield's spiny lizard or the Nilgiri salea, is a species of agamid, which is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills of India. It is found mainly in the high altitude grassy hills. A related species, Salea anamallayana, is found in the grassy hills of the Anaimalai Hills.
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Etymology
The specific name, horsfieldii, is in honor of American naturalist Thomas Horsfield.
Description
This olive brown to green lizard with a white banded appearance has a snout that is about 1.5 times as long as the eye diameter which is about twice the diameter of the ear opening. The scales on the head are large and rough. Some scales around the brow above the eye are curved. A row of three or four large scales are found between the eye and the ear opening. The scales on the throat are lanceolate, keeled and sharp tipped. The male has crest on the back of the neck made up of a few lanceolate spines facing backwards. The dorsal crest continues after a break behind the nuchal crest. The scales on the upper surface are large, rhomboidal, strongly keeled, pointing straight backwards; these are nearly always of unequal size, larger ones being scattered on the sides; ventral scales very strongly imbricate, strongly keeled and ending in a spine, nearly as large as the dorsals. Limbs are somewhat long and when the hind limb is held along the body, the toes reach between the shoulder and ear opening. The tails is compressed and in the male has a small crest and is crestless in the female. The caudal scales are sub-equal and strongly keeled.
The colour is pale olive above but varies from green to brown, with irregular dark-brown cross bands, often broken up by a band of the light-brown colour running along the sides of the back. The larger scales on the sides are frequently white and a blackish band edged below in white extends from the eye, through the tympanum, to the foreleg. The tail is banded with regular dark brown and creamy bands. The length from snout to vent is about 3.75 inches and the tail measures 9.75.