8. Sitana bahiri

Amarasinghe, Ineich & Karunarathna, 2015

Publication :

Amarasinghe AAT, I Ineich, DMSS Karunarathna, WMS Botejue & PD Campbell (2015). Two new species of the genus Sitana Cuvier, 1829 (Reptilia: Agamidae) from Sri Lanka, including a taxonomic revision of the Indian Sitana species. Zootaxa 3915 (1): 67–98.

Remarks :

We discovered Sitana bahiri from drier coastal areas in south-eastern Sri Lanka, sometimes recorded within the country at a distance of ~20 km from the nearest beach (e.g. Tissamaharama). It is shown that a definite decrease of the population due to the Indian Ocean Sumatra–Andaman earthquake and the subsequent tsunami which followed (flushed away 1–2 km of the land) in December 2004.

Etymology:
The species epithet is an eponym Latinised in the genitive singular, honouring Mohomed Mujythaba Bahir for his generous friendship, and remarkable contributions to Sri Lankan herpetology, carcinology and biodiversity conservation. Currently he spends his valuable time promoting science, biodiversity and conservation to the general public, especially the younger generation.

English name: Bahir’s Fanthroated Lizard
Sinhala (local) name: බාහීර්ගේ වැලි-කටුස්සා