Calotes

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Calotes
Common garden lizard (Calotes versicolor) female Phang Nga.jpg
C. versicolor , male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Agamidae
Subfamily: Draconinae
Genus: Calotes
Cuvier, 1817 [1]
Species

29 species, see here

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 ) 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. [2]

Contents

Geographic range

Species in the genus Calotes are native to South Asia, southern China, mainland Southeast Asia and Ambon. Additionally, C. versicolor has been introduced to Florida (USA), Borneo, Sulawesi, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Oman. [3] The greatest species richness of the genus is from the Western Ghats, northeast India, Myanmar, Bangladesh 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 . 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. [4] 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 by specific name. [5]

Two species formerly treated as members of the genus Calotes were separated into a new genus, Monilesaurus , in 2018. [7]

Nota bene : A binomial authority in parentheses or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Calotes.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<i>Pseudocalotes</i> Genus of lizards

Pseudocalotes is a genus of lizards in the family Agamidae. The genus is endemic to Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardwicke's bloodsucker</span> Species of lizard

Hardwicke's bloodsucker is an agamid lizard and found in South Asia.

<i>Bronchocela cristatella</i> Species of lizard

Bronchocela cristatella, also known as the green crested lizard, is a species of agamid lizard endemic to Southeast Asia.

<i>Bronchocela danieli</i> Species of lizard

Bronchocela danieli, also known commonly as Daniel's bloodsucker and Daniel's forest lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Campbell Bay, Great Nicobar Island, India.

<i>Bronchocela jubata</i> Species of lizard

Bronchocela jubata, commonly known as the maned forest lizard, is a species of agamid lizard found mainly in Indonesia on the islands of Singkep, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Karakelang, Salibabu; Nias Island, Singkap Island, Borneo (Kalimantan) also in Thailand, Cambodia and Philippines. Although in the past it was thought the species may be found in India, either on the mainland or in the Nicobars, this is not the case according to herpetologist Das. It is also known by the common name of "bloodsucker", although this is a misnomer.

<i>Calotes emma</i> Species of lizard

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.

<i>Calotes maria</i> Species of lizard

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.

<i>Monilesaurus rouxii</i> Species of reptile

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 that the species should be transferred to the new genus Monilesaurus.

Microauris is a monotypic genus of agamid lizard. Its only species is Microauris aurantolabium, also known as the small-eared dragon or orange-lipped forest lizard, found in the forests of the southern Western Ghats and is currently known from the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. The species was formerly included in Pseudocalotes andamanensis of the Andaman Islands, but recognized as distinct in 2008. It was also classified under Calotes until 2018, where it was transferred to its own genus, Microauris, on the basis of its divergence from Calotes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Draconinae</span> Subfamily of lizards

The Draconinae are a subfamily of reptiles in the family Agamidae found in southern Asia and Oceania. Some taxonomists believe these genera belong to the subfamily Agaminae.

<i>Calotes bachae</i> Species of lizard

Calotes bachae or Cochinchina Lizard is a species of lizards in the family Agamidae. It is known from southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia. Its range may extend into southern Laos.

<i>Pseudocalotes andamanensis</i> Species of lizard

Pseudocalotes andamanensis is an agamid lizard found on the Nicobar Islands and the Andaman Islands in India. It is also known as the green crestless forest lizard, Andaman and Nicobar forest lizard, Andaman lizard, or Andaman green calotes. This species is an almost exclusive canopy dweller, and is rarely seen.

Bronchocela smaragdina, also commonly known as Günther's bloodsucker, is a Southeast Asian species of agamid lizard.

<i>Calotes ceylonensis</i> Species of lizard

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.

<i>Monilesaurus</i> Genus of lizards

Monilesaurus is a genus of lizards in the draconine clade of the family Agamidae and is a new genus described in 2018. Currently it consists of 4 species, with 2 new species and 2 species split from the genus Calotes.

Calotes bhutanensis is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is endemic to the mountainous regions of Bhutan.

<i>Pseudocalotes floweri</i> Species of lizard

Pseudocalotes floweri, also commonly known as Flower's forest agamid, Flower's long-headed lizard, and the Thai false bloodsucker, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to Southeast Asia.

Bronchocela hayeki, also known commonly as the Sumatra bloodsucker, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Indonesia.

Calotes htunwini is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Myanmar.

<i>Pseudocalotes dringi</i> Species of lizard

Pseudocalotes dringi, also known commonly as Dring's false bloodsucker and Dring's false garden lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Malaysia.

References

  1. "Calotes". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  2. "Agassiz nomenclator zoologicus nomenclatore zoologico" (in Italian).
  3. Calotes versicolor. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Retrieved 17 January 2013
  4. Smith MA (1935). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol II.—Sauria. London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 440 pp. + Plate I + 2 maps. (Calotes groups, pp. 182-183)
  5. Calotes. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  6. Hartmann T, Geissler P, Poyarkov NAJ, Ihlow F, Galoyan EA, Rödder D, Böhme W (2013). "A new species of the genus Calotes Cuvier, 1817 (Squamata: Agamidae) from southern Vietnam". Zootaxa3599 (3): 246–260.
  7. Pal, Saunak; Vijayakumar, S.P.; Shanker, Kartik; Jayarajan, Aditi; Deepak, V. (2018). "A systematic revision of Calotes Cuvier, 1817 (Squamata: Agamidae) from the Western Ghats adds two genera and reveals two new species". Zootaxa. 4482 (3): 401–450. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4482.3.1. PMID   30313808.