''Calotes ceylonensis'', commonly known as the painted-lipped lizard or the Ceylon bloodsucker, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Agamidae Agamidae is a family containing 582 species in 64 genera of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few locations in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview Phylogenetically ...

. It is one of four ''

Calotes ''Calotes'' is a genus of lizards in the draconine clade of the family Agamidae. The genus contains 29 species. Some species are known as forest lizards, others as "bloodsuckers" due to their red heads, and yet others (namely '' C. versicolor'') ...

'' species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Habitat

''C. ceylonensis'' is confined to monsoon forests, plantations, and home gardens in the dry and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka.

Geographic range

Localities in Sri Lanka at which ''C. ceylonensis'' has been collected include Mankulam, Elahera,

Nilgala Nilgala is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also *List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province is a Provinces of Sri Lanka, province of Sri Lanka, containing the Ka ...

, Minneriya National Park,

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' , , pronounced SEE-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeologic ...

Kandalama Kandalama is a village in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Kandalama is situated close to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - the Dambulla cave temple and the Sigiriya rock fortress. Kandalama is also home to the Kaludiya Pokuna Archeological Fo ...

, Laggala,

Kumana National Park Kumana National Park in Sri Lanka is renowned for its avifauna, particularly its large flocks of migratory waterfowl and wading birds. The park is southeast of Colombo on Sri Lanka's southeastern coast. Kumana is contiguous with Yala National Pa ...

Puttalam Puttalam (; ) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam District and governed by a municipal council. Climate Under the ...

and Kumbalgamuwa, up to elevation of about .

Description

''C. ceylonensis'' is a colorful, arboreal agamid. The length of the head is one and half times the width. The body is laterally compressed. The tail is long and slender, about or over twice the head-body length. The cheeks are swollen. Two separated spines can be seen above the tympanum. The nuchal crest is formed with low spines. Midbody scale rows number 54–60. The dorsum is brown, with indistinct brown crossbands. The head and anterior part of body are blackish-brown. There is a bright red or reddish-orange stripe on the upper lip that extends to the back of the head. When the lizard is threatened, or agitated by stress, the brown-colored lip turns to a bright white color, as does the dorso-nuchal crest. The throat of adult males is black. The tail is brown with dark crossbands. The venter is pale brown with darker crossbands. Calotes ceylonensis at Kandalama

Behavior

''C. ceylonensis'' is active during the day on tree trunks.

Diet

The diet of ''C. ceylonensis'' comprises

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s and other

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

Reproduction

About 5–10 eggs, measuring , are produced at a time.