IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 24(1):51–54 • APR 2017 New Locality Records of Leschenault’s Snake Eye, Ophisops leschenaultii (Sauria: Lacertidae) (Milne-Edwards, 1829) from Telangana State, with Notes on the Species’ Natural History Gandla Chethan Kumar 1 , Chelmala Srinivasulu 1,2 , and Kante Krishna Prasad 1 1 Wildlife Biology & Taxonomy Lab, Department of Zoology, University College of Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana State 500007, India (g.chethankumar@gmail.com) 2 Natural History Museum and Wildlife Biology & Taxonomy Lab, Department of Zoology, University College of Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana State 500007, India and Systematics, Ecology & Conservation Laboratory, Zoo Outreach Organization (ZOO), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641035, India 51 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY Copyright © 2017. Gandla Chethan Kumar. All rights reserved. WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL T he eight currently recognized species of snake-eyed liz- ards in the genus Ophisops (Lacertidae) range widely across southeastern Europe, northern Africa, and eastward into Asia as far as the Indian Subcontinent (Kyriazi et al. 2008). The genus has long been of scientific interest due to its astonishing phenotypic variability and resulting taxonomic complexity and instability (Arnold and Burton 1978; Arnold 1989, 2004). Biogeographic analyses and estimated times of divergence suggest a late Miocene diversification within the genus (Kyriazi et al. 2008). Although that phylogenetic study focused on the two Mediterranean species (O. elegans and O. occidentalis), one individual of O. jerdonii collected in India was included in the study. It showed a high degree of diver- gence from all other clades. Studies pertaining to the genus Ophisops in the Indian subcontinent, like those more broadly in Asia, are still in a nascent stage. Fig. 1. Leschenault’s Snake Eye, Ophisops leschenaultii (Milne-Edwards 1829) from the Kawal Tiger Reserve, Adilabad District, Telangana State, India. Photograph by Gandla Chethan Kumar.