Takydromus sexlineatus
The Asian grass lizard was described by French zoologist François Daudin in 1802, making it the first published grass lizard species. This is also a type species of the genus Takydromus. It is widespread, with its distribution extending from eastern India to southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia, as well as to many islands in Southeast Asia. These are brown grass lizards with three pairs of chin shields and 0-5 pairs of femoral pores. There is great variation in the coloring along the sides of the body among populations and individuals. In some populations males have white spots along their sides, while in other populations they are dark brown with blue-green lines and abdomen. There may be many cryptic species among the widely distributed Asian grass lizard that are yet to be discovered. Its type specimen appears to be missing, which creates a major challenge to its reclassification. This specimen has shed its tail.
Reptile fact: François Daudin, who published the first account of the Asian grass lizard, described 517 reptile species in his book Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des reptiles, most of which were newly discovered species, as well as newly established genera, such as Takydromus, Python, and Ophisaurus. Daudin was also proficient in the classification of birds, amphibians, and invertebrates and published dozens of new species in these groups, making him a zoological taxonomy expert.
