south indian rock agamas

If you have been to the woods of Hyderabad, India, chances are that you might have met one of these colorful agamas –ย of the lizard family. These are the South Indian Rock Agamas, psammophilus dorsalis, also known as Peninsular Rock Agamas. Specifically, the ones you see in this article are the males in their breeding season, when they adorn bright red colors and stay on the rocks displaying their availability.

psammophilus dorsalis, south indian rock agama

A study by Radder et al. [2006] found that, larger the male, higher their perching position on the rock, with the smallest male taking the lowest position.

psammophilus dorsalis, south indian rock agama

psammophilus dorsalis, peninsular rock agama

Date: 14 Jun 2007
Location: @ Mrugavani, Hyderabad, India
Camera: Nikon D80ย + Tamron SP AF90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens

Reference:
1. Radder, R.S., Saidapur, S.K.,ย  Shanbag, B.A., 2006: Big boys on top: effects of body size, sex and reproductive state on perching behaviour in the tropical rock dragon, Psammophilus dorsalis, Animal Biology, 56, 3, 311-321 [
link].

50 Responses

  1. vinutha says:

    yeah sure……..:)

  2. vinutha says:

    they are not so clear though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. vinutha says:

    hey did u check the pics ?i found them in madhapur rocky area!

  4. vinutha says:

    me and my friend are in to a project this summer and we are supposed to click pics of lizards!!!!!!!!!
    we managed to click a few pics and the lizard luks almost the same as the one shown above!so…i was a bit confused whether its the agama……….

  5. vinutha says:

    what is the best way 2 catch a lizard?

  6. vinutha says:

    are agamas poisonous?????????????

    • rocksea says:

      sorry for a late reply as we were moving around. those photographs are beautiful! i am not able to identify the agama in your pictures. from which area did you capture them?

  7. Rocks, great images! Could you tell us a little more about these lizards. Left thirsting for more! ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. Andy says:

    Love the great orange colors on this lizard! Looks like they know how to attract the ladies! Great shots.

  9. rocksea says:

    thanks, solilo, kanak and indrani ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. Indrani says:

    Interesting info and so well supported with pics.
    Great post.

  11. Awesome!! Love the colours here… the lizard’s, err agama’s, and also the background…. I am sure I have seen this one or other colourful agamas before, but never noticed how gorgeous they look! Now I am going to be staring at every garden lizard I see ๐Ÿ™‚
    These pictures are inspiring, if I could find the time I would LOVE to try capturing some such creatures around where we live!

    • rocksea says:

      Yes IHM we usually miss a lot of wonderful life around… but once we start observing them, we can’t stop ourselves from that. We are happy that these images are inspiring for you. You would love it more when you start capturing them and knowing them closer ๐Ÿ™‚

  12. Kanak says:

    I love photographing lizards too. But these are spectacular! Love that orange head and that bit about the pecking order!

  13. Deeps says:

    I dont like the appearance of lizards that you normally find at houses..they repel me!but the one you’ve displayed above looks attractive with its red head!

  14. Srilatha says:

    The first shot is awesome!! Wondering if agamas change the colors on their head to match with the surroundings .. All matching matching (Though this aspect is a gals thingy ๐Ÿ˜‰ )
    BTW … how do u know this one is male ???

    • rocksea says:

      hey srilatha, males of this species have these bright colors during the breeding seasons. females and juveniles are dull in color. i think some agamas have limited ability for changing their colors.

  15. Solilo says:

    Fabulous captures!

  16. Woods in Hyd? Never been to the woods-woods perse, but there was plenty of forest area inside my uni. Seen them a lot, but never knew their names or the significance of their colour…. too good observation Rocksea!! and I love the colours on the first pic..

    cya

    • rocksea says:

      hehe. i used woods as a collective representation of those slightly forested areas here and there in hyderabad. some parts of the mrugavani national park, where we took these shots, are densely forested, though it is dry and the ground looks like a desert, without much grass/green.

      which university are you refering to? yes, the females and juveniles are dull colored unlike the breeding males.

  17. the background color and the color of its head matches very well!

  18. Happy Kitten says:

    How do u manage to be so observant?

    and all that show for the females :).. I hope this fellow got the best one…

  19. sarah says:

    never thought they would come out so fabulous as they were in real. Interesting to hear about their sense of hierarchy.

  20. Abhilash says:

    Roxy.. sorry forget to ask. Are they poisnous?

  21. Abhilash says:

    Roxy the first image was fantastic. I really liked it.

    I have never seen such lizard before. How can you identify whether it is male or female ?

    • rocksea says:

      only the males have this bright red color, and that too while in the breeding season. females and juveniles are usually dull colored. they are not poisonous, but could make painful bites if they need ๐Ÿ™‚

  22. Elaine- says:

    remember that childhood rhyme when you were higher up? lol i’m the king of the castle and you’re the dirty rascal ๐Ÿ™‚ that’s what these lizards must say… nice shots

  23. sandeep says:

    guess the rock agamas are a common sight in rural karnataka too, especially the hilly areas near bangalore (mainly kolar, tumkur, mandya districts)

    colorful shot here

  24. Mridula says:

    They don’t seem familiar to me. But I also have the same question, how do you manage such good macros?

  25. Swaram says:

    Oh! I hv seen these but never knew anything abt them ๐Ÿ˜›
    So,rock agamas are what they are called ๐Ÿ™‚

  26. Love the color of the lizzies head ! flame red !!! It matches with the rock behind too ๐Ÿ˜€ btw how u manage to find out all this creatures :p

    • rocksea says:

      thanks lakshmi. these creatures come to us ๐Ÿ˜‰ probably the passion for nature brings us closer ๐Ÿ™‚ most of these were taken during short vacations in india!

      • Sirisha says:

        Hey how did u go to mrigavani? I mean.. did u get any help from any NGO? or can we just enter inside at random?

        • rocksea says:

          we just went there, they told that entrance to the forest is not possible. we roamed around and sneaked through the gate ๐Ÿ˜€

          anyways, they provide bus rides through the forest.

  1. February 11, 2010

    […] fan throated lizards belong to the family agamidae, the same family of the south indian rock agamas, which we came across in an earlier […]

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