Common Agama

The common agama, red-headed rock agama or rainbow agama (''Agama agama'') is a species of lizard from the family Agamidae found in most of sub-Saharan Africa. To clear up centuries of historical confusion based on Linnaeus and other authors, Wagner et al. designated a neotype (numbered ZFMK 15222) for the species, using a previously described specimen from Cameroon in the collection of the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig in Bonn. The species name was formerly applied to a paraphyletic collection of taxa (a so-called wastebasket); subsequent mitochondrial DNA analysis of various populations indicates they represent separate species.Leaché, A.D. et al. (2009)
Phylogeny of the genus ''Agama'' based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data.
''Bonner zoologische Beiträge'' 56(4) 273-78. Consequently, three former subspecies '' A. a. africana'', '' A. a. boensis'', and '' A. a. mucosoensis'' are now considered separate species, and ''A. a. savattieri'' is considered synonymous with ''A. africana''.

Description

Its size varies from in total length. Males are typically longer than the average female. The agama lizard can be identified by having a white underside, brown back limbs and a tail with a light stripe down the middle. The stripe on the tail typically possesses about six to seven dark patches along its side. Females, adolescents and subordinate males have an olive green head, while a dominant male has a blue body and yellow tail.

Distribution and habitat

The common agama is endemic to countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania and Uganda.^,. However, it has been introduced through the reptile trade to southern Florida, where it has become extremely common.

''Agama agama'' is well-adapted to arid conditions. These lizards remain active throughout the day except for the hottest hour, when even shaded spots can reach .

Diet

Common agamas are primarily insectivores, but they have been known to eat small mammals and reptiles and vegetation such as flowers, grasses, and fruits. Their diet consists of mainly ants, grasshoppers, beetles and termites. They catch their prey using their tongue, the tip of which is covered by mucous glands that enable the lizard to hold to smaller prey.

Behaviour

Male agamas are territorial and must fight other males to claim their space. Agamas live in social groups including a lead male, about half a dozen females, and subordinate males. Subordinate males can only gain their own group if they eliminate the existing lead male (the "cock") or establish a colony outside all other cocks' territory. Only the cock is allowed to mate with the females. The center of a cock's territory is usually marked by the presence of a physical object, such as a tree or boulder, on which the lizards congregate. In urban areas, fights between males are more common because space is at a higher premium.

Reproduction

Females are sexually mature at 14–18 months, while males take 2 years. ''Agama agama'' tends to reproduce during the wet season, but can also reproduce in areas that receive constant rainfall. After fertilization and when she is ready to lay, the female will dig a hole deep with her snout and claws in damp, sandy soil that is covered with grasses or other plants and which receives sunlight during most of the day. Once finished, the female will lay a clutch of 5–7 ellipsoidal eggs that hatch within a period of 8–10 weeks.

The sex of common agama embryos are determined by temperature, so all male eggs experienced a temperature of while female eggs are in the range. After hatching, the offspring will measure about snout to vent, plus their tail.

File:Red-headed rock agama (Agama agama) female juvenile.jpg, juvenile, Ghana
File:Red-headed rock agama (Agama agama) female juvenile head.jpg, juvenile, Ghana
File:Red-headed rock agama (Agama agama) female moulting.jpg, A female with moult, Gambia
File:Agama agama (Carl Linnaeus, 1758).jpg, ''Zoo Schmiding'' near Bad Schallerbach, Austria
File:Agama agama, Sinoe Airport imported from iNaturalist photo 189231614.jpg, Male, in Liberia
File:Agama agama, Aeroport, Niamey, Niger imported from iNaturalist photo 310422390.jpg, Male, in Niger
File:Agama agama, Eastern, GH imported from iNaturalist photo 174520642.jpg, Male, in Ghana

References

Further reading

* Spawls, S., et al. (2006). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of East Africa'' Princeton: Princeton University Press.

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Agama Agama
agama
Fauna of Rivers State
Agamid lizards of Africa
Reptiles described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus