''Calotes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of lizards in the draconine clade of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Agamidae. The genus contains 29

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. Some species are known as forest lizards, others as " bloodsuckers" due to their red heads, and yet others (namely '' C. versicolor'') as garden lizards. The genus name ''Calotes'' has been derived from the Greek word ''Καλότης (Kalótës)'', meaning ‘beauty’, referring to the beautiful pattern of this genus.

Geographic range

Species in the genus ''Calotes'' are native to

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, southern China, mainland Southeast Asia and

Ambon Ambon may refer to: Places * Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia ** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province ** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796 * Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...

. Additionally, ''C. versicolor'' has been introduced to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

(USA),

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

, Sulawesi, the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

.
Calotes versicolor
'' The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Retrieved 17 January 2013 The greatest

species richness Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative ab ...

of the genus is from the Western Ghats, northeast India,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and Sri Lanka.

Description

''Calotes'' is distinguished from related genera in having uniform-sized dorsal scales, and lacking a fold of skin extending between the cheek and shoulder, and in having proportionately stronger limbs than ''

Pseudocalotes ''Pseudocalotes'' is a genus of agamid lizards endemic to Southeast Asia. Taxonomy and description ''Pseudocalotes'' was disassociated from the genus ''Calotes'' by Scott Michael Moody in 1980. ''Pseudocalotes'' is distinguished from ''Calotes'' ...

''. Compared to '' Bronchocela'', ''Calotes'' have a proportionately shorter tail and limbs. ''Calotes'' as we know it today was classified by Moody (1980) prior to which all of the above-mentioned genera were included in this genus.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Calotes'' is still a heterogeneous group that may be divided into the ''C. versicolor'' and ''C. liocephalus'' groups. The former occurs through most of South Asia and further east. All species in this group have their dorsal and lateral scales directed upward. The latter is restricted to the southern Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. All species in this group have their scales directed back, or up and down, or down only. Whether further splitting is necessary or whether the groups constitute subgenera of a monophyletic ''Calotes'' remains to be studied.

Species

Listed alphabetically. * '' Calotes bachae'' * '' Calotes bhutanensis'' * '' Calotes calotes'' – common green forest lizard * '' Calotes ceylonensis'' – painted-lip lizard, Ceylon bloodsucker * '' Calotes chincollium'' * '' Calotes desilvai'' - Morningside lizard, Ceylon black-band whistling lizard * '' Calotes emma'' – Emma Gray's forest lizard, forest crested lizard ** ''Calotes emma alticristatus'' ** ''Calotes emma emma'' * '' Calotes farooqi'' – Farooq's garden lizard * '' Calotes geissleri'' * '' Calotes goetzi'' * '' Calotes grandisquamis'' – large-scaled forest lizard * '' Calotes htunwini'' * '' Calotes irawadi'' * '' Calotes jerdoni'' – Jerdon's forest lizard * '' Calotes liocephalus'' – spineless forest lizard, crestless lizard, lionhead agama * '' Calotes liolepis'' – whistling lizard, Sri Lanka agama * '' Calotes manamendrai'' – Manamendra-Arachchi's whistling lizard * '' Calotes maria'' – Khasi Hills forest lizard * '' Calotes medogensis'' – Medog bloodsucker * '' Calotes minor'' – Hardwicke's bloodsucker * '' Calotes mystaceus'' – Indo-Chinese forest lizard, blue-crested lizard * ''

Calotes nemoricola ''Calotes nemoricola'', the Nilgiri forest lizard, is an agamid lizard found in the Western Ghats of India (Nilgiri Hills, Anaimalai, Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Coorg, Agumbe). Description One detached spine in front of three or two ...

'' – Nilgiri forest lizard * '' Calotes nigrilabris'' – black-cheek lizard * '' Calotes nigriplicatus'' * '' Calotes paulus'' – small forest lizard * '' Calotes pethiyagodai'' * ''

Calotes versicolor The oriental garden lizard (''Calotes versicolor''), also called the eastern garden lizard, Indian garden lizard, common garden lizard, bloodsucker or changeable lizard, is an agamid lizard found widely distributed in indo-Malaya. It has also bee ...

'' – Oriental garden lizard, changeable lizard, eastern garden lizard * '' Calotes vindumbarbatus'' * '' Calotes zolaiking'' – Mizoram montane forest lizard Two species formerly treated as members of the genus were separated into a new genus in 2018 - '' Monilesaurus'': * '' Monilesaurus ellioti'' – Elliot's forest lizard * '' Monilesaurus rouxii'' – Roux's forest lizard, Roux's forest Calotes ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Calotes''.

Gallery

File:Garden lizard3.jpg, A juvenile male garden lizard seen in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. File:Indian Garden Lizard Calotes versicolor W2 IMG 6829.jpg, A female Oriental garden lizard, ''

''. File:Calotes female.jpg, A female ''Calotes'' at Pune, India. File:Garden Lizard India vs.JPG, A garden lizard, South India. File:Garden Lizard India vs.jpg, A garden lizard, South India. File:Calotes Garden Lizard at Madikai Ambalathukara Kerala 04.jpg, Garden lizard at Madikai Ambalathukara Kerala, India File:Calotes Garden Lizard at Madikai Ambalathukara Kerala 10.jpg, Garden lizard

References