Joshi Manish, Das Sanjay Keshari, Sarma Kiranmay
University School of Environment Management, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Sector 16-C, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078, India.
Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021 Aug;28(8):4542-4552. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.04.055. Epub 2021 Apr 27.
Among monitor lizards of the family Varanidae, Indian desert monitor lizard Mertens 1954 is one of the lesser-known species globally and due to lack of data on this species it is so far not evaluated by IUCN and excluded from the latest assessment of monitor lizards of Southeast Asia and Indo-Australian Archipelago. The present study was undertaken from January 2013 to June 2017 to fill this gap during which taxonomic evaluation along with an assessment of population and ecology of this species was carried out in the Thar desert of Rajasthan (TDR). The study brought into knowledge many morphological variations along with intraspecific variations of scale microstructure of this lizard. The population density was found to be highest in the Jaisalmer (0.102/ha) district of western Rajasthan, followed by Bikaner (0.08/ha) and Sikar (0.077/ha) districts. The overall population was quite low (0.068/ha) in the area. The study further revealed the species is habitat specialist and lives in a narrow range of habitats and microhabitats, and hence, the species may not adapt to the rapidly changing environment in the TDR. Their activity was found to be highest between 9ndash;12 hrs followed by 12-15 hrs and foraging was found to be their predominant activity followed by resting and feeding. In the absence of any detailed study on this species, the study points towards immediate conservation efforts for the species in its current distribution. Baseline data generated through this study will no doubt help to safeguard the species in the TDR and further research on this species in the future.
在巨蜥科的巨蜥中，印度沙漠巨蜥（Mertens，1954年）是全球鲜为人知的物种之一，由于缺乏该物种的数据，它至今未被世界自然保护联盟评估，也被排除在东南亚和印度 - 澳大利亚群岛巨蜥的最新评估之外。本研究于2013年1月至2017年6月进行，以填补这一空白，在此期间，在拉贾斯坦邦的塔尔沙漠（TDR）对该物种进行了分类学评估以及种群和生态学评估。该研究揭示了这种蜥蜴的许多形态变异以及鳞片微观结构的种内变异。发现种群密度在拉贾斯坦邦西部的斋沙默尔区最高（0.102只/公顷），其次是比卡内尔区（0.08只/公顷）和锡卡尔区（0.077只/公顷）。该地区的总体种群数量相当低（0.068只/公顷）。研究进一步表明，该物种是栖息地专家，生活在狭窄的栖息地和微栖息地范围内，因此，该物种可能无法适应塔尔沙漠快速变化的环境。发现它们的活动在9点至12点之间最为活跃，其次是12点至15点，觅食是它们的主要活动，其次是休息和进食。由于缺乏对该物种的任何详细研究，该研究指出应立即对其当前分布范围内的物种进行保护。通过本研究生成的基线数据无疑将有助于保护塔尔沙漠中的该物种，并为未来对该物种的进一步研究提供帮助。
