Sitana
# Sitana

Sitana is a genus of lizards, collectively known as the fan-throated lizards, from the family Agamidae. They are found in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The genus comprises fourteen species, including several recently discovered species, such as two new species from Sri Lanka. In 2016, a new genus named Sarada was erected, consisting of one former Sitana species and two newly described ones. Sarada is the sister genus of Sitana. Together they form a clade which sister group is Otocryptis.

## Description

Sitana are small to medium-sized lizards. They are ground dwellers, primarily eating insects but also mollusks and plant seeds.

Males measure 37–47 mm (1.5–1.9 in) and females 36–52 mm (1.4–2.0 in) in snout–vent length. In an example of convergent evolution, males have prominent dewlaps, similar to anoles, which are used in communication during the breeding season. The dewlap may be small to large, depending on the species. Females lack the dewlap.

## Species

There are fourteen species that are listed here alphabetically:

| Scientific Name | Common Name | Distribution |
| - | - | - |
| Sitana devakai Amarasinghe, Ineich & Karunaratna, 2014 | Devaka's fan-throated lizard | Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu of India, |
| Sitana dharwarensis Ambekar, Murthy, & Mirza 2020 | | India |
| Sitana fusca Schleich & Kästle, 1998 | dark sitana | Nepal. |
| Sitana gokakensis Deepak, Khandekar, Chaitanya, & Karanth, 2018 | Gokak fan-throated lizard | India. |
| Sitana kalesari Bahuguna, 2015 | | India. |
| Sitana laticeps Deepak and Giri, 2016 | broad-headed fan-throated lizard | India. |
| Sitana marudhamneydhal Deepak, Khandekar, Varma & Chaitanya, 2016 | | India |
| Sitana ponticeriana Cuvier, 1829 | Pondichéry fan-throated lizard | India |
| Sitana schleichi Anders & Kästle, 2002 | Suklaphantah sitana | Nepal. |
| Sitana sivalensis Schleich, Kästle & Shah, 1998; endemic to Nepal | Siwalik sitana | Nepal. |
| Sitana spinaecephalus Deepak, Vyas and Giri, 2016 | spiny-headed fan-throated lizard | India |
| Sitana sushili Deepak, Tillack, Kar, Sarkar, & Mohapatra, 2021 | Sushil's fan-throated lizard | India |
| Sitana thondalu Deepak, Khandekar, Chaitanya, & Karanth, 2018 | Nagarjuna Sagar fan-throated lizard | India |
| Sitana visiri Deepak, 2016 | palm leaf fan-throated lizard | India |
