''Calotes'' is a genus of

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s in the draconine

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

of the family

Agamidae Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...

. The genus contains 29 species. Some species are known as forest lizards, others as "

bloodsucker Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the practice by certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Ancient Greek, Greek words αἷμα ' "blood" and φαγεῖν ' "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in ...

s" 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, southern China,

mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

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 co ...

. Additionally, ''C. versicolor'' has been introduced to Florida (USA), Borneo,

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Oman.
Calotes versicolor
'' The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Retrieved 17 January 2013 The greatest species richness 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 C. Wells, Joh ...

, Bangladesh and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

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''. 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 In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

of a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

''Calotes'' remains to be studied.

Species

Listed alphabetically. * '' Calotes bachae'' * '' Calotes bhutanensis'' * ''

Calotes calotes ''Calotes calotes'', the common green forest lizard, is an agamid lizard found in the forests of the Western Ghats and the Shevaroy Hills in India, and Sri Lanka. Description ''Calotes calotes'' is a considerably large species of agamid, meas ...

'' – common green forest lizard * ''

Calotes ceylonensis ''Calotes ceylonensis'', commonly known as the painted-lipped lizard or the Ceylon bloodsucker, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is one of four ''Calotes'' species endemic to Sri Lanka. Habitat ''C. ceylonensis'' is confined to ...

'' – painted-lip lizard, Ceylon bloodsucker * '' Calotes chincollium'' * ''

Calotes desilvai ''Calotes desilvai'', commonly known as the Morningside lizard, or the Ceylon black-band whistling lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. ''Calotes desilvai'' is one of seven ''Calotes'' species endemic to Sri Lanka. Etymology ...

'' - Morningside lizard, Ceylon black-band whistling lizard * ''

Calotes emma ''Calotes emma'', commonly known as the forest garden lizard or Emma Gray's forest lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. There are two recognized subspecies. Etymo ...

'' – Emma Gray's forest lizard, forest crested lizard ** ''Calotes emma alticristatus'' ** ''Calotes emma emma'' * ''

Calotes farooqi ''Calotes farooqi'', Farooq's garden lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to Pakistan. References farooqi Reptiles of Pakistan Endemic fauna of Pakistan Reptiles described in 1995 {{Agamidae-stub ...

'' – Farooq's garden lizard * '' Calotes geissleri'' * ''

Calotes goetzi ''Calotes goetzi'' is a species of agamid lizard. It is found in China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand as well as introduced in Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in ...

'' * ''

Calotes grandisquamis ''Calotes grandisquamis'', the large-scaled forest lizard, is an arboreal, diurnal, insectivorous agamid lizard found in the evergreen rainforests of the Western Ghats of India; distributed from Agumbe to Agasthyamalai Hills. Gallery ...

'' – large-scaled forest lizard * '' Calotes htunwini'' * '' Calotes irawadi'' * ''

Calotes jerdoni ''Calotes jerdoni'', commonly known as the Indo-Chinese forest lizard or Jerdon's forest lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to China and South Asia. Etymology The specific name, ''jerdoni'', is in ...

'' – Jerdon's forest lizard * ''

Calotes liocephalus The spineless forest lizard, crestless lizard or lionhead agama (''Calotes liocephalus'') is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. Description ''Calotes liocephalus'' grows to in snout–vent length and in t ...

'' – spineless forest lizard, crestless lizard, lionhead agama * ''

Calotes liolepis The whistling lizard or Sri Lanka agama (''Calotes liolepis'') is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is one of seven Calotes species endemic to Sri Lanka. Distribution Restricted to submontane forests below 100m, and found in forest ...

'' – whistling lizard, Sri Lanka agama * ''

Calotes manamendrai ''Calotes manamendrai'' (Manamendra-Arachchi's whistling lizard) is an agamid lizard endemic to Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, tran ...

'' – Manamendra-Arachchi's whistling lizard * ''

Calotes maria ''Calotes maria'', called commonly the Khasi Hills forest lizard or Assam garden lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to South Asia. Geographic range ''C. maria'' is found in Northeast India (Khasi Hi ...

'' – Khasi Hills forest lizard * ''

Calotes medogensis ''Calotes medogensis'', the Medog bloodsucker, is a species of Agamidae, agamid lizard. It is endemic to Medog County of Tibet (China). References

Calotes, medogensis Reptiles of China Endemic fauna of Tibet Reptiles described in 1984 Tax ...

'' – Medog bloodsucker * '' Calotes minor'' – Hardwicke's bloodsucker * ''

Calotes mystaceus ''Calotes mystaceus'', the Indo-Chinese forest lizard or blue crested lizard, is an agamid lizard found in China, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Description/Identification Physical Structure: Upper head-scales smooth or feebly keeled, imbricat ...

'' – Indo-Chinese forest lizard, blue-crested lizard * '' Calotes nemoricola'' – Nilgiri forest lizard * ''

Calotes nigrilabris ''Calotes nigrilabris'', the black-cheek lizard, is an Agamidae, agamid species endemic to Sri Lanka. It can be distinguished easily from Calotes liolepis, painted-lipped lizard by having black bar on mouth rather than white or orange bar. Distr ...

'' – black-cheek lizard * '' Calotes nigriplicatus'' * ''

Calotes paulus The small forest lizard (''Calotes paulus'') is a species of agamid lizard found in India (eastern Himalaya, Khasi Hills, Sikkim, and China ( Tibet).Calotes pethiyagodai The Pethiyagoda's crestless lizard (''Calotes pethiyagodai'') is an agamid lizard endemic to Sri Lanka. Locally known as පෙතියාගොඩගේ නොසිලු කටුස්සා (Pethiyagodage nosilu katussa). Description Res ...

'' * '' Calotes versicolor'' – Oriental garden lizard, changeable lizard, eastern garden lizard * ''

Calotes vindumbarbatus ''Calotes vindumbarbatus'' is a species of agamid lizard. It is found in Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only som ...

'' * ''

Calotes zolaiking ''Calotes zolaiking'', the Mizoram montane forest lizard, is a species of agamid lizard. It is endemic to India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, th ...

'' – Mizoram montane forest lizard Two species formerly treated as members of the genus were separated into a new genus in 2018 - ''

Monilesaurus ''Monilesaurus'' is a genus of lizards in the draconine clade of the family Agamidae and is a new genus described in 2018.''Monilesaurus'' The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Currently it consists of 4 species, with 2 new species and ...

'': * ''

Monilesaurus ellioti ''Monilesaurus ellioti'', also known commonly as Elliot's forest lizard, is a species of arboreal, diurnal, lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. Etymology The specific name, ''ellioti'', is in h ...

'' – Elliot's forest lizard * ''

Monilesaurus rouxii ''Monilesaurus rouxii'', commonly known as Roux's forest lizard, Roux's forest calotes, or the forest blood sucker, is a species of arboreal, diurnal, agamid lizard, which is endemic to hills of peninsular India. In July 2018, it was proposed ...

'' – Roux's forest lizard, Roux's forest Calotes '' Nota bene'': A binomial authority in parentheses or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or the

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

was originally described in a genus other than ''Calotes''.

Gallery

File:Garden lizard3.jpg, A juvenile male garden lizard seen in Andhra Pradesh, India. File:Indian Garden Lizard Calotes versicolor W2 IMG 6829.jpg, A female Oriental garden lizard, '' Calotes versicolor''. 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