Calotes mystaceus

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Indo-Chinese forest lizard
Bangkok Reptiles Blue crested Lizard.jpg
Calotes mystaceus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Agamidae
Genus: Calotes
Species:
C. mystaceus
Binomial name
Calotes mystaceus
Duméril & Bibron, 1837 [1]

Calotes mystaceus, the Indo-Chinese forest lizard or blue crested lizard, is an agamid lizard found in China, South Asia and Southeast Asia. [2]

Contents

Description/Identification

Calotes mystaceus in Keibul Lamjao National Park, India. Calotes mystaceus manipur.JPG
Calotes mystaceus in Keibul Lamjao National Park, India.

Physical Structure: Upper head-scales smooth or feebly keeled, imbricate, scarcely enlarged on supraorbital region; a few small spines on each side of the head above the tympanum; latter measuring at least half the diameter of the orbit. Gular sac small; gular scales feebly keeled, as large as dorsals. An oblique fold in front of the shoulder. Dorso-nuchal crest well developed in the male, composed of falciform spines directed backwards, the longest measuring the diameter of the orbit; it gradually decreases in height on the back, being reduced to a mere denticulation on the sacrum. 45-53 scales round the middle of the body; dorsal scales keeled, nearly twice as large as ventrals, all directed upwards and backwards; ventral scales strongly keeled. The adpressed hind limb reaches the tympanum or the posterior border of the orbit; fourth finger slightly longer than the third. Tail a little compressed, at the base with a slightly serrated upper ridge.

Color Pattern: Background color grey to olive, frequently with large transverse red spots on the back; lips yellowish. [3]

Length: Maximum: 42 cm., Common: 28 cm. (Snout to vent 9.5 cm.). [4]

Distribution

Cambodia, China (Yunnan), India (Mizoram), Laos, Myanmar (Tenasserim to Naypyitaw = Naypyitaw, Mandalay, and Kachin State [26°00N, 97°30E]), Thailand (Chiang Saen) (north of the Isthmus of Kra), & Vietnam (South). [2] It is also reported from Bangladesh (Chittagong Hill tracts), adjacent to Mizoram province of India.[ citation needed ] The Indochinese Bloodsucker is first documentation in Florida from Okeechobee County and Glades County.

Male Calotes mystaceus from Thailand Calotes mystaceus from Thailand.jpg
Male Calotes mystaceus from Thailand

Vernacular names

Habitat

Terrestrial & arboreal; diurnal; naturally found in forest, but can be found in treed neighborhoods and city parks.

Diet

Feeds on crickets, grasshoppers, moths, and other insects.

Reproduction

The Indo-Chinese forest lizard is oviparous. [2]

Uses

No known practical uses. Plays an insectivorous role in its ecosystem.

Threat to humans

Non-venomous and harmless to humans. Can give a painful bite if handled, but is not dangerous.

IUCN threat status

Not Evaluated (NE).

Related Research Articles

<i>Calotes</i> Genus of lizards

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 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.

<i>Ceratophora</i> Genus of lizards

Ceratophora is a genus of agamid lizards found in Sri Lanka. The male has a horn on its snout.

<i>Salea</i> Genus of lizards

Salea is a genus of arboreal, slow-moving, diurnal, insectivorous, egg-laying agamid lizards endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. It has two species, each inhabiting very high mountainous tracts of the Western Ghats in the Shola forest ecosystems.

<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 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 calotes</i> Species of lizard

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.

<i>Monilesaurus ellioti</i> Species of lizard

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.

<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 jerdoni</i> Species of lizard

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.

<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>Calotes nemoricola</i> Species of lizard

Calotes nemoricola, the Nilgiri forest lizard, is an agamid lizard found in the Western Ghats of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental garden lizard</span> Species of lizard

The oriental garden lizard, 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 been introduced in many other parts of the world.

<i>Draco blanfordii</i> Species of lizard

Draco blanfordii, commonly known as Blanford's flying dragon, Blanford’s flying lizard, or Blanford's gliding lizard, is a species of "flying" lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Asia, and is capable of gliding from tree to tree.

<i>Draco maculatus</i> Species of lizard

Draco maculatus, commonly known as the spotted flying dragon or spotted gliding lizard, is a species of agamid flying lizard endemic to Southeast Asia. It is capable of gliding from tree to tree.

<i>Paralaudakia himalayana</i> Species of lizard

The Himalayan agama is an agamid lizard found in Central Asia and South Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peninsular rock agama</span> Species of reptile

The peninsular rock agama or South Indian rock agama is a common species of agama found on rocky hills in south India. An allied species, Psammophilus blanfordanus, is found in the Eastern Ghats, but north of the range of this species.

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.

<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>Calotes nigrilabris</i> Species of lizard

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

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

References

  1. Duméril, A. M. C. and G. Bibron. 1837 Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complete des Reptiles. Vol. 4. Libr. Encyclopédique Roret, Paris.
  2. 1 2 3 Calotes mystaceus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 22 July 2014.
  3. Boulenger, G. A. 1890. Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia.
  4. "Colorful New Lizard Identified in Vietnam". Archived from the original on 2013-01-17.