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Morphometric parameters of endemic endangered highland lizard Calotes
nigrilabris were obtained utilizing three fixed length 200m line transects in the grassland
habitat of Horton Plains National Park (HPNP). The PCA analysis of mophometric data
revealed five discrete clusters which were categorized into five maturity stages as Adult male,
Adult Female, Sub-adult Male, Sub-adult Female and Juvenile. Furthermore, principal
component 1 (PC1) axis was representing a high percentage of variance (91.3%) with negative
values for all the parameters indicating that if one morphometric parameter of an individual
lizard increases, all the other parameters also increase. SVL was identified as the morphometric parameter with the highest PC1 value (-0.422), yet it wasn’t significantly affecting the PC1
axis. SVL was used as a base for easy categorization of maturity stages. Adult Males recorded
the highest values for all the parameters considered. Results of the present study indicate that
morphometric data can be used as a successful tool for the categorization of maturity stage of
this agamid species.
