''Calotes'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s in the draconine

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

of 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 ...

. The genus contains 29

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), ...

. 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#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, southern China,

mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) 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 th ...

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

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

(USA),

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Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

, the

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and

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

.
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 community (ecology), ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the Abundance (ecology), abunda ...

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

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and

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, ...

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 ''Bronchocela'' is a genus of Asian lizards, Common name, commonly known as bloodsuckers, crested lizards, and forest lizards, in the Family (biology), family Agamidae. Species There are 15 species in the genus ''Bronchocela'': ''Nota bene'' ...

'', ''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 ( 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 the ge ...

of a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

''Calotes'' remains to be studied.

Species

Listed alphabetically by

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

. *

'' Calotes bachae'' * '' Calotes bhutanensis'' * '' Calotes calotes'' – 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 (biology), family Agamidae. It is one of four ''Calotes'' species Endemism, endemic to Sri Lanka. Habitat ''C. ...

'' – 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 nemoricola Wayanad

'' 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'' – Nilgiri forest lizard Male Calotes versicolor

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

Calotes sinyik ''Calotes sinyik'', the Sinyik dragon lizard or Subansiri dragon lizard, is a species of lizard found in Arunachal Pradesh, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dep ...

'' * ''

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 be ...

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

Calotes wangi ''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'') ...

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

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or the

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

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

Gallery

File:Calotes bachae 183517348 (cropped 2).jpg, '' C. bachae'' File:Calotes emma 3420729.jpg, '' C. emma'' File:Large-scaled forest lizard IMG 1023.jpg, '' C. grandisquamis'' File:Calotes jerdoni P1130608 02.jpg, ''C. jerdoni'' File:Calotes nigrilabris 60068657 (cropped).jpg, '' C. nigrilabris'' File:Oriocalotes paulus.jpg, '' C. paulus'' File:Calotes female.jpg, A female ''Calotes'' at Pune, India. File:Garden Lizard India vs.jpg, A garden lizard, South India.

References