Saara hardwickii, commonly known as Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard or the Indian spiny-tailed lizard is a species of lizard in the familyAgamidae. The species is found in patches across the Thar desert, Kutch, and surrounding arid zones in India and Pakistan. It is mainly herbivorous and lives in numbers in some areas. Since it is found in loose clusters it often attracts predators such as raptors. It is also hunted by local peoples in the belief that the fat extracted from it is an aphrodisiac.
Traditionally the species S. hardwickii was placed in the genus Uromastyx, but in 2009 it was moved to the genus Saara together with the closely related species S. asmussi and S. loricata.[4]
It has been suggested that Uromastyx sensu lato along with the sister group of Leiolepis may be considered as a distinct family, the Uromastycidae, however this is not widely accepted as the rest of the Agamidae do not form a clear sister group.[6]
Geographic range
The type locality for S. hardwickii is Kanauj district in Uttar Pradesh. It inhabits the dry desert tracts of the northern half of the plains of India into Pakistan. It ranges from Uttar Pradesh in the east to Rajasthan in the West and the Kachchh area of Gujarat. The hot Thar desert is the stronghold of this species and are found extensively in the Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer and Churu districts in Rajasthan. It is also found in some parts of Madhya Pradesh (Rewa).[7]
Local names
Gujarati: sandho
Hindi-Urdu: sana
Konkani: gaar
Punjabi: sanda
Rajasthani: sanda
Pashto: khadmai
Sindhi: patt machi
Description
A juvenile spiny-tailed lizard.
Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard has a rounded head with a flat snout. It is usually yellowish brown, sandy or olive in colour. It may have black spots and vermiculations and a distinctive black spot on the front of the thigh. It has a dorso-ventrally flattened body with wrinkled skin. Its tail has whorls of spiny scales with large spines on the side. The tail is bluish-grey (in Jaisalmer) to sand-coloured (in Kutch).
The colour of the lizard varies and darker colours are seen during the colder seasons.[8]
Sexual dimorphism
Males of S. hardwickii range in total length (including tail) from 40 to 49 cm (16 to 19 in), and females 34 to 40 cm (13 to 16 in). The male has a longer tail than the female and pronounced femoral pores.
Photo gallery
Laggar Falcon just caught a spiny tailed lizard
A juvenile Laggar Falcon had just caught a spiny tailed lizard saara Hardwickii. It is about to start consuming the lizard. These lizards are a huge part of their diet in certain areas of Rajasthan, India.
A view from the rear. Note the rounded head and flat snout.
The dorso-ventrally flat body is clearly made out.
Close up of front half.
Close up of rear half - note the blue-grey spiny tail and toes on the foot.
A dead Uromastyx found on the dunes.
Laggar falcon (Falco jugger) feeding on a spiny-tailed lizard. The lizard was identified from its remains (tail).
Tail of a spiny-tailed lizard which fell prey to a laggar falcon
A tail found below the habitual perch of a tawny eagle.
Fresh pellet of a tawny eagle which shows spines of a spiny-tailed which it had eaten. The eagle was filmed ejecting this pellet.
Hawker selling sanda oil in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Habits
Generally found in firm ground rather than pure sand dunes, Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard is often found living in colonies, sometimes on the outskirts of villages. It prefers elevated patches of land especially in Kutch where it is invariably found on isolated patches of high ground (called Bets) above the monsoon water level. Also found in Sindh at Kohistan area surrounding Karachi and Thana Bula Khan.
Birds of prey are a major predator of the lizard in the desert. The saker falcon (Falco cherrug) has been recorded in literature[9] but the tawny eagle (Aquila rapax) and other falcons such as the laggar (Falco jugger) also prey on these lizards.[10][11] The cattle egret has also been known to prey on it.[12]
Burrow
Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard excavates a sloping zig-zagging or spiralling tunnel of 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 in) diameter and over 2 m (6.6 ft) long for itself. The tunnel has an entrance which is flush with the ground and ends in a small chamber. S. hardwickii is solitary in the burrow, but hatchlings may stay with the mother initially.[8]
The lizard basks close to the entrance of its burrow. It is very alert and smoothly slides into its burrow at the first hint of danger. The spiny-tailed hibernates through the winter and emerges in spring. By the time it is ready for hibernation, the lizard puts on long strips of fat on each side of the backbone which presumably enables it to survive the long winter months. Projected agricultural growth would cause considerable declines of Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard (>20%) populations.[13]
Food
Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard is largely herbivorous and its teeth are adapted for a plant diet which comprises the flowers and fruits of the kair (Capparis aphylla); the beans of khejri (Prosopis spicigera); the fruit of Salvadora persica, and grass. In locust-breeding areas the spiny tailed lizard has been known to feed on nymphs and adults of the locust.
In summer it tends to forage more in the mornings feeding to a greater extent on insects, and in the monsoons it feeds principally on herbs and grasses.[8]
Breeding biology
Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard breeds in spring after emerging from hibernation. It lays white, pigeon-sized eggs.
Economic importance
In India S. hardwickii is caught for its meat, about which Malcolm Smith says "... with certain castes of Hindus it is a regular article of diet ... the meat is said to be excellent and white like chicken ... the head and feet are not eaten, but the tail is considered a great delicacy ... the fat of the body is boiled down and the resulting oil is used as an embrocation and also as a cure for impotence."[14]
The fat stored in the tail of the lizard is purported to have medicinal properties and for this reason, this lizard is often illegally collected and sold in various parts of India and Pakistan for folk medicine. It is kept in captivity by the cruel practice of dislocating the backbone.
Poaching
Hardwicke's spiny-tailed lizard is on the verge of extinction in western Rajasthan due to rampant poaching by nomads, who value this reptile both for its meat and as a medicine. During the monsoon, this lizard leaves its burrow and comes out to feed on tender shoots of grass, at which time it falls prey to raptors.[15][16]
^"Saara hardwickii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
^Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN0-88359-056-5. (Uromastyx hardwickii, p. 117).
^Wilms TM, Böhme W, Wagner P, Lutzmann N, Schmitz A (2009). "On the phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus Uromastyx Merrem, 1820 (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae: Uromastycinae) – resurrection of the genus Saara Gray, 1845". Bonner zoologische Beiträge56 (1/2): 55–99.
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Uromastyx hardwickii, p. 116).
^Honda M, Ota H, Kobayashi M, Nabhitabhata J, Yong HS, Sengoku S, Hikida T (2000). "Phylogenetic Relationships of the Family Agamidae (Reptilia: Iguania) Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA Sequences". Zoological Science. 17 (4): 527–537. doi:10.2108/zsj.17.527. hdl:2433/57223.
^Chandra K, Gajbe P (March 2005). (PDF). Zoos' Print Journal. 20 (3): 1812–1819. doi:10.11609/jott.zpj.1087.1812-9. S2CID 131740631. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-24.
^ abcDutta S, Jhala Y (2007). "Ecological aspects of Indian spiny-tailed lizard Uromastyx hardwickii in Kutch". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 104 (3): 255–265.
^Mason CW (1911). The Food of Birds in India. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co. OCLC 69081303.
^Baindur A (2009). "The raptors and the agamid". Indian Birds. 5 (1): 7–10.
^Hume AO (1869). My Scrap Book: or Rough Notes on Indian Oology and Ornithology. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press. p. 69.
^Maurya KK; Bopanna IP; Dutta S (2009). "Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis preying on the Indian spiny-tailed lizard Uromastyx hardwickii in Kachchh". Indian Birds. 5 (2): 48–49.
^Dutta, S.; Jhala, Y. (2014). Abundance and Habitat Covariates of Lesser Florican and Spiny-tailed Lizard in Kachchh, India (2008-09). PANGAEA. hdl:10013/epic.43445.
^Dey, Anindo (2009). Times of India, Delhi, 13 June 2009.
^Knapp, Amelie (2004). "An assessment of the international trade in spiny-tailed lizards Uromastyx with a focus on the role of the European Union". Technical report to the European Commission (PDF) (Report). CITES.
Hardwicke T, Gray JE (1827). "A Synopsis of the Species of Saurian Reptiles, collected in India by Major-General Hardwicke". Zool. J. London3: 214-229. (Uromastix hardwickii, new species, pp. 219-220). (in Latin and English).
Vyas, Raju (1990). "Notes on capture of the Spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyx hardwickii) in Gujarat". Hamadryad15: 28.
Daniel JC (2002). The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians. Mumbai: Bombay Natural History Society.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saara hardwickii.
Saara hardwickii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
Digital morphology
March 03, 2023
saara, hardwickii, commonly, known, hardwicke, spiny, tailed, lizard, indian, spiny, tailed, lizard, species, lizard, family, agamidae, species, found, patches, across, thar, desert, kutch, surrounding, arid, zones, india, pakistan, mainly, herbivorous, lives,. Saara hardwickii commonly known as Hardwicke s spiny tailed lizard or the Indian spiny tailed lizard is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae The species is found in patches across the Thar desert Kutch and surrounding arid zones in India and Pakistan It is mainly herbivorous and lives in numbers in some areas Since it is found in loose clusters it often attracts predators such as raptors It is also hunted by local peoples in the belief that the fat extracted from it is an aphrodisiac Saara hardwickiiConservation statusCITES Appendix II CITES 1 Scientific classificationKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ReptiliaOrder SquamataSuborder IguaniaFamily AgamidaeGenus SaaraSpecies S hardwickiiBinomial nameSaara hardwickii Gray 1827 Synonyms 2 3 Uromastix hardwickii Gray 1827 Uromastyx hardwickii Das 2002 Saara hardwickii Wilms et al 2009 Contents 1 Taxonomy and etymology 2 Geographic range 2 1 Local names 3 Description 3 1 Sexual dimorphism 4 Habits 4 1 Burrow 4 2 Food 5 Breeding biology 6 Economic importance 7 Poaching 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksTaxonomy and etymology EditTraditionally the species S hardwickii was placed in the genus Uromastyx but in 2009 it was moved to the genus Saara together with the closely related species S asmussi and S loricata 4 The specific name hardwickii commemorates English naturalist Thomas Hardwicke who brought illustrations of the species from which J E Gray described it 5 It has been suggested that Uromastyx sensu lato along with the sister group of Leiolepis may be considered as a distinct family the Uromastycidae however this is not widely accepted as the rest of the Agamidae do not form a clear sister group 6 Geographic range EditThe type locality for S hardwickii is Kanauj district in Uttar Pradesh It inhabits the dry desert tracts of the northern half of the plains of India into Pakistan It ranges from Uttar Pradesh in the east to Rajasthan in the West and the Kachchh area of Gujarat The hot Thar desert is the stronghold of this species and are found extensively in the Jaisalmer Bikaner Barmer and Churu districts in Rajasthan It is also found in some parts of Madhya Pradesh Rewa 7 Local names Edit Gujarati sandho Hindi Urdu sana Konkani gaar Punjabi sanda Rajasthani sanda Pashto khadmai Sindhi patt machiDescription Edit A juvenile spiny tailed lizard Hardwicke s spiny tailed lizard has a rounded head with a flat snout It is usually yellowish brown sandy or olive in colour It may have black spots and vermiculations and a distinctive black spot on the front of the thigh It has a dorso ventrally flattened body with wrinkled skin Its tail has whorls of spiny scales with large spines on the side The tail is bluish grey in Jaisalmer to sand coloured in Kutch The colour of the lizard varies and darker colours are seen during the colder seasons 8 Sexual dimorphism Edit Males of S hardwickii range in total length including tail from 40 to 49 cm 16 to 19 in and females 34 to 40 cm 13 to 16 in The male has a longer tail than the female and pronounced femoral pores Photo gallery Laggar Falcon just caught a spiny tailed lizardA juvenile Laggar Falcon had just caught a spiny tailed lizard saara Hardwickii It is about to start consuming the lizard These lizards are a huge part of their diet in certain areas of Rajasthan India This section contains an unencyclopedic or excessive gallery of images Please help improve the section by removing excessive or indiscriminate images or by moving relevant images beside adjacent text in accordance with the Manual of Style on use of images June 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message A front view A view from the rear Note the rounded head and flat snout The dorso ventrally flat body is clearly made out Close up of front half Close up of rear half note the blue grey spiny tail and toes on the foot A dead Uromastyx found on the dunes Laggar falcon Falco jugger feeding on a spiny tailed lizard The lizard was identified from its remains tail Tail of a spiny tailed lizard which fell prey to a laggar falcon A tail found below the habitual perch of a tawny eagle Fresh pellet of a tawny eagle which shows spines of a spiny tailed which it had eaten The eagle was filmed ejecting this pellet Hawker selling sanda oil in Rawalpindi Pakistan Habits EditGenerally found in firm ground rather than pure sand dunes Hardwicke s spiny tailed lizard is often found living in colonies sometimes on the outskirts of villages It prefers elevated patches of land especially in Kutch where it is invariably found on isolated patches of high ground called Bets above the monsoon water level Also found in Sindh at Kohistan area surrounding Karachi and Thana Bula Khan Birds of prey are a major predator of the lizard in the desert The saker falcon Falco cherrug has been recorded in literature 9 but the tawny eagle Aquila rapax and other falcons such as the laggar Falco jugger also prey on these lizards 10 11 The cattle egret has also been known to prey on it 12 Burrow Edit Hardwicke s spiny tailed lizard excavates a sloping zig zagging or spiralling tunnel of 6 to 8 cm 2 4 to 3 1 in diameter and over 2 m 6 6 ft long for itself The tunnel has an entrance which is flush with the ground and ends in a small chamber S hardwickii is solitary in the burrow but hatchlings may stay with the mother initially 8 The lizard basks close to the entrance of its burrow It is very alert and smoothly slides into its burrow at the first hint of danger The spiny tailed hibernates through the winter and emerges in spring By the time it is ready for hibernation the lizard puts on long strips of fat on each side of the backbone which presumably enables it to survive the long winter months Projected agricultural growth would cause considerable declines of Hardwicke s spiny tailed lizard gt 20 populations 13 Food Edit Hardwicke s spiny tailed lizard is largely herbivorous and its teeth are adapted for a plant diet which comprises the flowers and fruits of the kair Capparis aphylla the beans of khejri Prosopis spicigera the fruit of Salvadora persica and grass In locust breeding areas the spiny tailed lizard has been known to feed on nymphs and adults of the locust In summer it tends to forage more in the mornings feeding to a greater extent on insects and in the monsoons it feeds principally on herbs and grasses 8 Breeding biology EditHardwicke s spiny tailed lizard breeds in spring after emerging from hibernation It lays white pigeon sized eggs Economic importance EditIn India S hardwickii is caught for its meat about which Malcolm Smith says with certain castes of Hindus it is a regular article of diet the meat is said to be excellent and white like chicken the head and feet are not eaten but the tail is considered a great delicacy the fat of the body is boiled down and the resulting oil is used as an embrocation and also as a cure for impotence 14 The fat stored in the tail of the lizard is purported to have medicinal properties and for this reason this lizard is often illegally collected and sold in various parts of India and Pakistan for folk medicine It is kept in captivity by the cruel practice of dislocating the backbone Poaching EditHardwicke s spiny tailed lizard is on the verge of extinction in western Rajasthan due to rampant poaching by nomads who value this reptile both for its meat and as a medicine During the monsoon this lizard leaves its burrow and comes out to feed on tender shoots of grass at which time it falls prey to raptors 15 16 References Edit Appendices CITES cites org Retrieved 2022 01 14 Saara hardwickii The Reptile Database www reptile database org Das I 2002 A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India Sanibel Island Florida Ralph Curtis Books 144 pp ISBN 0 88359 056 5 Uromastyx hardwickii p 117 Wilms TM Bohme W Wagner P Lutzmann N Schmitz A 2009 On the phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus Uromastyx Merrem 1820 Reptilia Squamata Agamidae Uromastycinae resurrection of the genus Saara Gray 1845 Bonner zoologische Beitrage 56 1 2 55 99 Beolens Bo Watkins Michael Grayson Michael 2011 The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press xiii 296 pp ISBN 978 1 4214 0135 5 Uromastyx hardwickii p 116 Honda M Ota H Kobayashi M Nabhitabhata J Yong HS Sengoku S Hikida T 2000 Phylogenetic Relationships of the Family Agamidae Reptilia Iguania Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA Sequences Zoological Science 17 4 527 537 doi 10 2108 zsj 17 527 hdl 2433 57223 Chandra K Gajbe P March 2005 An inventory of herpetofauna of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh PDF Zoos Print Journal 20 3 1812 1819 doi 10 11609 jott zpj 1087 1812 9 S2CID 131740631 Archived from the original PDF on 2020 02 24 a b c Dutta S Jhala Y 2007 Ecological aspects of Indian spiny tailed lizard Uromastyx hardwickii in Kutch J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 104 3 255 265 Mason CW 1911 The Food of Birds in India Calcutta Thacker Spink amp Co OCLC 69081303 Baindur A 2009 The raptors and the agamid Indian Birds 5 1 7 10 Hume AO 1869 My Scrap Book or Rough Notes on Indian Oology and Ornithology Calcutta Baptist Mission Press p 69 Maurya KK Bopanna IP Dutta S 2009 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis preying on the Indian spiny tailed lizard Uromastyx hardwickii in Kachchh Indian Birds 5 2 48 49 Dutta S Jhala Y 2014 Abundance and Habitat Covariates of Lesser Florican and Spiny tailed Lizard in Kachchh India 2008 09 PANGAEA hdl 10013 epic 43445 Smith MA 1935 pp 244 247 Dey Anindo 2009 Times of India Delhi 13 June 2009 Knapp Amelie 2004 An assessment of the international trade in spiny tailed lizards Uromastyx with a focus on the role of the European Union Technical report to the European Commission PDF Report CITES Further reading Edit Woodcut from The Fauna of British India Including Ceylon and Burma Hardwicke T Gray JE 1827 A Synopsis of the Species of Saurian Reptiles collected in India by Major General Hardwicke Zool J London 3 214 229 Uromastix hardwickii new species pp 219 220 in Latin and English Vyas Raju 1990 Notes on capture of the Spiny tailed lizard Uromastyx hardwickii in Gujarat Hamadryad 15 28 Daniel JC 2002 The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians Mumbai Bombay Natural History Society Smith Malcolm A 1935 The Fauna of British India Including Ceylon and Burma Reptilia and Amphibia Vol II Sauria London Secretary of State for India in Council Taylor and Francis printers xiii 440 pp Plate I 2 maps Uromastix hardwickii pp 244 247 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saara hardwickii Saara hardwickii at the Reptarium cz Reptile Database Digital morphology Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Saara hardwickii amp oldid 1116973724, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
