The agamids constitute a family of about 300 lizard species, distributed entirely throughout the Old World (Asia, Africa and Australia, with one species in Europe). They are in many ways the Old World equivalent of the iguanid lizards and fill similar ecological niches. Often the degree of similarity between an agamid species and its iguanid equivalent is uncanny. Both groups are classed together in the Iguanian line.
The word agamid does not in itself conjure up the same quick associations that iguanid does, the latter's greater recognition being probably almost entirely due to Iguana iguana the green iguana. Yet there are many agamids which are well-known under more common names. Green water dragons, bearded dragons, frilled dragons, Uromastyx and sailfin lizards are all agamids.
Despite the parallel development of agamid and iguanid species, the anatomical similarity is not that great. The main difference to the non-microscopic eye is the teeth, which in iguanids are set separately, each in its own socket, along the edge of the jaw (the pleurodont arrangement). In agamids the teeth are fused together and set along the upper front of the jaw (the acrodont arrangement), and are not replaced if lost. Despite this, agamids are one of the few reptilian groups to develop heterodonty, ie having different shaped teeth such as molars, canines and incisors. Unlike the iguanid family, the agamid family does not contain many small lizards: most are on the medium to large size (2-4').
Apart from the one species in SE Europe, agamids are distributed throughout Africa and especially Asia and Australia, although they are not present in northern Asia, central Africa or the SW African coastal strip along the Namib, nor in Madagascar, which interestingly is one of only two places in the New World colonised by iguanids. Of the two genera found in Africa (Uromastyx in N Africa and Agama in both North and South) neither is arboreal, whereas most Asian species seem to be tree dwellers.
In the UK there seems to be little interest in agamid lizards outside of the "big three" (Physignathus [Water Dragons], Pogona [Bearded Dragons] and Uromastyx). The Germans and Dutch seem to have made more progress with the lesser known species, as may have some North American keepers. This may reflect a certain conservatism on the part of British lizard keepers, but may also partly be due to the fact that not all agamids make good captives. Some, like Bronchocela, are delicate and short-lived, while others have large space requirements that would make it difficult to house more than a few in one house. The magnificent Hydrosaurus (Sailfin Lizards) are unfortunately quite demanding in this respect. Temperamentally some agamids are either highly strung or have a tendency to strike at the glass, or both. Finally, information on these interesting lizards has not always been readily available: there was an unfortunate tendency for sellers to simply label them "dragons" (eg Mountain Dragon, Tree Dragon) without any clue as to their proper species name or place of origin.
Nevertheless some generalisations can be made. African and Middle Eastern species are generally dorsoventrally rather flattened (ie the body is wider than it is high) and tend to live in arid places or the desert. By contrast most Asian species appear to be treedwellers, often hailing from forest or jungle, although many have become accustomed to living alongside man in his gardens. The tree dwellers tend to be laterally compressed (ie the body is higher than it is wide): green coloration is also a sign that the agamid is more likely to live among trees than on sand! However, it seems that even terrestrial agamids such as Agama still like to have a perch or high point from which to observe their territory. Uromastyx and Leiolepis are both fairly specialised and have their own subfamily. See the Bibliography for suggested books on the captive husbandry of species.
The following is a guide to the agamid genera. I am indebt to Manthey & Schuster's book "Agamid Lizards" (TFH) and refer anyone with an interest in this family of lizards to it. Further species details will be added to the genera entries in the course of time.
NAVIGATION: As this is a large page we have placed a couple of navigation links in each genus box. Click on "B" to go to the Bibliography, or "I" to go back up to the index (Quick Links).
| Acanthocercus | Acanthasaura, Prickle-Napes | Agama, Agamas |
| Amphibolurus, Jacky Dragons | Aphaniotis, Blue-Mouthed Agamas | Brachysaura, Night Agamas |
| Bronchocela, Slender Agamas | Bufoniceps, Laungwala Long-Headed Lizard | Caimanops, Five-Keel Agama |
| Calotes, Beauty Lizards, Bloodsuckers | Ceratophora, Horned Agamas | Chelosania, Chameleon Agama |
| Chlamydosaurus, Frilled Dragon | Cophotis, Earless Agama | Coryphophylax , Nicobar Forest Dragon |
| Cryptagama, Fringe-Lip Agama | Ctenophorus, Australian Dragon | Dendragama, Sumatran Tree Dragon |
| Diporiphora, Two-Lined Dragons | Draco, Flying Dragons | Gonocephalus, Angleheads |
| Harpesaurus, Snout Agamas | Hydrosaurus, Sailfin Dragons | Hylagama |
| Hypsicalotes | Hypsilurus, Forest Dragons | Japalura, Mountain Agamas |
| Laudakia, Whorl-Tail Agamas | Leiolepis, Butterfly Agamas | Lophocalotes |
| Lophognathus | Lyriocephalus, Lyre-Headed Agama | Mictopholis |
| Moloch, Thorny Devil | Oreodeira | Oriocalotes |
| Otocryptis, Ground Agamas | Paracalotes | Phoxophrys, Eyebrow Lizards |
| Phrynocephalus, Toad-Headed Agamas | Physignathus, Water Dragons | Pogona, Bearded Dragons |
| Psammophilus, Sand Agamas | Pseudocalotes, Slender Beauty Lizard | Pseudotrapelus, Sinai Agama |
| Ptyctolaemus | Rankinia | Salea |
| Sitana | Thaumatorhynchus | Trapelus, Steppes Agama |
| Tympanocryptis, Deaf Agamas | Uromastyx, Uromastyx, Mastigures, Spiny-Tailed Agamas, Dab Lizards | Xenagama |
| Genus | Common Name | No. of Species | Distribution | Notes |
| Family AGAMIDAE | ||||
| Acanthocercus | ? | 7 | Arabia, Horn of Africa | This appears to be a fairly new genus defined within the last few years. See the EMBL database entry. B I |
| Acanthosaura | Prickle-Napes | 4 | SE Asia, Indonesia | B I |
| Agama | Agamas | 27-35 | Extreme North Africa west of Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa except for coastal strip and Congo basin | B I |
| Amphibolurus | Jacky Dragons | 8 | Australia, southern New Guinea | |
| Aphaniotis | Blue-Mouthed Agamas | 4 | SE Asia | B I |
| Brachysaura | Night Agamas | 1 | SE Pakistan through to India | B I |
| Bronchocela | Slender Agamas | 7 | SE Asia and Indo-Australian archipelago as far as New Guinea | A group consisting of lizards formerly described as Calotes. B I |
| Bufoniceps | ? | 1 | India | This is a fairly new genus, the single species Bufoniceps laungwalaensis having formerly been part of the Phrynocephalus genus. See the EMBL entry for this species. B I |
| Caimanops | Mulga Dragon, Five-Keel Agama | 1 | Central Western Australia | B I |
| Calotes | Beauty Lizards, Bloodsuckers | 16-20 | Iran through to S China and as far north as Himalayas and south as Maldives, Sri Lanka and Sumatra. | Of the lesser-known agamas, these are perhaps better known than some of the others due to certain characteristics: a limited colour-changing ability, independent movement of each eye (as in the chameleons) and their often bright colours, including the vivid red head colour in some species which has given rise to the common name "Bloodsuckers". B I |
| Ceratophora | Horned Agamas | 5 | Sri Lanka | Easily distinguishable by the rostral protuberances on their snouts: not well-suited to captivity. B I |
| Chelosania | Chameleon Agamas | 1 | Australia (Northern Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland) | B I |
| Chlamydosaurus | Frilled Dragon | 1 | N/NE Australia, S New Guinea | A well-known and unmistakeable lizard owing to the "frill" around its neck which can be erected when the lizard is angry or threatened, causing it to appear much bigger to a potential predator. In captivity, however, the frilled dragon becomes rather tame and rarely shows off this effect. If this display does not have the desired effect, the lizard will flee, often running bipedally its rear legs. Once very rare in collections outside Australia, this agamid is now being bred in captivity. B I |
| Cophotis | Earless Agama | 1 | Sri Lanka | Distinguished by lack of visible tympanum and broad white lip and shoulder stripe [Manthey and Schuster]. B I |
| Coryphophylax | Nicobar Forest Dragon | 1 | Indian Ocean (Nicobar and Andaman Islands) | Very similar in external appearance to Gonocephalus. B I |
| Cryptagama | Gravel Dragon, Fringe-Lip Agama | 1 | Australia (Western Australia and Northern Territory) | B I |
| Ctenophorus | Australian Dragons | 22 | Australia | B I |
| Dendragama | Sumatran Tree Dragon | 1 | Sumatra | B I |
| Diporiphora | Two-Lined Dragons | 16 | Australia and S New Guinea | B I |
| Draco | Flying Dragons | 20 | India, SE Asia | Another reasonably well-known agamid, in this case due to its ability to "fly", which is in fact rather the ability to glide long distances (from tree to tree) using its "wings" which are in fact a retractable extension of its ribs with a membrane of skin across them. Although interesting, these lizards are not suitable for captivity as they eat ants extensively and have proved impossible to maintain. B I |
| Gonocephalus | Angleheads | 17 | SE Asia inc. Philippines, Borneo and Sunda archipelago | Very similar in appearance to the Crested Iguanas of the New World. B I |
| Harpesaurus | Snout Agamas | 4 | Nias Island, Sumatra and Java | B I |
| Hydrosaurus | Sailfin Dragons | 2-4 | Philippines, Indo-Australian archipelago inc. New Guinea | A spectacular and semi-aquatic group of lizards that live in forested areas near water. Their name derives from the long crest along the back. These species grow to 4ft in length and require roomy and well-planted terraria so are unsuited for keeping by any but the most dedicated (and wealthy) herpetologists. B I |
| Hylagama | ? | 1 | Borneo | B I |
| Hypsicalotes | ? | 1 | Indonesia, Malaysia | Formerly a member of Pseudocalotes. B I |
| Hypsilurus | Forest Dragons | 13 | New Guinea, Australia, Pacific islands | B I |
| Japalura | Mountain Agamas | 20 | Himalayas, SE Asia, S China and Japan | Although members of this genus are fairly often seen in the pet trade, they are not always correctly identified and there is little information commonly available on their requirements. B I |
| Laudakia | Whorl-Tail Agamas | 22 | SE Europe, SW and C Asia, Arabia, NE, E & S Africa | This genus includes those few agamas seen in Europe, including the Hardun. See also Natural History and Captive Care of the Hardun (Laudakia stellio). B I |
| Leiolepis | Butterfly Agamas | 4 | SE Asia inc. S China | Closely related to the Uromastyx genus. These lizards have however proved if anything more tricky to maintain in captivity, requiring a lot of space and a terrarium with at least about a foot of mixed sand and loam (Manthey and Schuster). In warm areas such as the southern US they may be kept out of doors, but they are very vulnerable to cool dampness (ibid). These interesting lizards are really for specialists who can provide the appropriate care and room. B I |
| Lophocalotes | ? | 1 | W Sumatra | B I |
| Lophognathus | ? | 4 | Australia | Disputed classification: some authorities consider this to be a synonym of Amphibolurus. The EMBL database entry shows four species for this genera, although Manthey & Schuster consider it a component of Amphibolurus. B I |
| Lyriocephalus | Lyre-Headed Agama | 1 | Sri Lanka | Interesting but reputedly delicate species from the mountain forests of Sri Lanka. B I |
| Mictopholis | ? | 1 | India | B I |
| Moloch | Thorny Devil | 1 | C, S & W Australia | Specialised ant-eater that should not be kept in captivity. In appearance the Moloch is unmistakeable, looking indeed like a bunch of brown thorns. The purpose of these, apart from being defensive, is to help divert morning dew into the tiny channels on the lizard's back that convey the moisture to its mouth. It is actually a fairly harmless creature. The nearest New World equivalent would probably be the iguanid Horned Toads (Phrynosoma species) of the American deserts. B I |
| Oreodeira | ? | 1 | SE Australia (New South Wales) | For some reason this monotypic genus is not included in Manthey & Schuster (see Bibliograph). EMBL has an entry for it. B I |
| Oriocalotes | ? | 1 | India | B I |
| Otocryptis | Ground Agamas | 2 | S India, Sri Lanka | B I |
| Paracalotes | ? | ? | ? | Other than the name (listed only in the EMBL database) I have been able to find no information on this genus. B I |
| Phoxophrys | Eyebrow Lizards | 5 | Borneo, Sumatra | B I |
| Phrynocephalus | Toad-Headed Agamas | 38-40 | SE Europe, Asia Minor and south as far as E Asia | These lizards have also been seen in the pet trade on a fairly regular basis, albeit infrequent, but again there is little information commonly available on their requirements. B I |
| Physignathus | Water Dragons | 2 | SE Asia inc. S China, Australia and New Guinea | Both species of Water Dragon are fairly well known, the Green Water Dragon of SE Asia (P. cocincus) especially so. It is often kept as a pet lizard in the West and has been commended as similar to, but less demanding than, the Green Iguana (Iguana iguana). The Brown or Australian Water Dragon, P. leseurii, also has its followers. In nature both live in forested areas near or above water and are adept swimmers. In captivity they require roomy, well-planted terraria with a body of water for immersing themselves in. Green Water Dragons also have an unfortunate reputation for bashing their snouts against the terrarium glass until bloody unless they have sufficient room. Captive-bred specimens are calmer. B I |
| Pogona | Bearded Dragons | 7 | Australia | Bearded Dragons are among the best-known pet lizards, and deservedly so as they are easy to keep and become fairly tame. They are also prolific breeders, even in captivity, so that they have become almost a household pet in the last few years. The most commonly kept is Pogona vitticeps. The common name derives from the "beard", actually a spiny crest, around the lizard's neck which it can erect when angry. The beard may also change colour somewhat when the male wishes to mate. Originating from the Australian deserts, Pogona species require fairly high temperatures as well as UV light. See the Bibliography for books on care. B I |
| Psammophilus | Sand Agamas | 2 | India | B I |
| Pseudocalotes | Slender Beauty Lizards | 6 | SE Asia as far as S China and Java | B I |
| Pseudotrapelus | Sinai Agama | 1 | NE Africa, Arabia | B I |
| Ptyctolaemus | ? | 2 | India, Tibet, NE Thailand | B I |
| Rankinia | ? | 2 | S & W Australia | A recently defined genus which comprises two species formely considered part of the genus Amphibolurus. Confusingly, one of the subspecies for R. adelaidensis is listed as a Tympanocryptis species! See the EMBL database entry: their entry for R. diemensis also links to a photograph. B I |
| Salea | ? | 4 | India, SE Asia, SW China | B I |
| Sitana | Four-Toed Agama | 1 | India, Sri Lanka | B I |
| Thaumatorhynchus | ? | 1 | Sumatra | B I |
| Trapelus | Steppes Agamas | 11 | SE Europe across Caspian to SW Asia, south across Asia Minor to Arabia and North Africa | B I |
| Tympanocryptis | Deaf Agamas | 10 | Australia | B I |
| Uromastyx | Uromastyx, Mastigures, Spiny-Tailed Agamas, Dab Lizards | 14 | N Africa as far east as India and Arabia, south as far as Sudan and Somalia | Attractive, intelligent herbivorous lizards that nevertheless have certain absolute requirements if kept in captivity. In nature virtually all of these species live in deserts with baking temperatures up to 110 deg F, and many gain whatever liquid they require from the vegetation they consume rather than any free-standing source. Therefore a very hot, absolutely dry terrarium is required: excessive humidity can cause health problems and even death. They are also burrowers, so a deep sustrate is essential in captivity, either to allow digging or to house suitable alternatives such as pipes (which must nevertheless be completely covered by the substrate). B I |
| Xenagama | ? | 2 | Somalia and Ethiopia | B I |
Agamid Lizards, Ulrich Manthey and Norbert Schuster, TFH 1996 (originally published in German, 1992, as Agamen). Most German herpetologists write very knowledgeably, and TFH have excelled themselves in snapping this one up and publishing it in a good English translation. Not only does this book give excellent care advice on all the major species of agamid that are kept in the terrarium, but it also gives information on the classification of the agamids, a reasonably good section on health care, and a most welcome bonus, a guide to all the agamids including the lesser-known ones (how many herpetologists have heard of some of the above genera such as Coryphophylax, Hylagama or Xenagama? The book is one of TFH's hardback editions and thus somewhat more expensive than usual (about £15-£16 in the UK) but well worth the money if you are interested in agamid lizards. Recommended. An second edition of the German copy was released in 1999 which contains updated data.
Following their usual practice TFH also released a slimmer volume on the same subject, Agamid Lizards, this time by David Zoffer. This is not a bad introduction to the family at about half the price, concentrating on the popular or more striking agamids and omitting the rest.
The German site Repti-Box has a very useful summary table of information about a few of the species of agama contained in these pages, including three of the most popular ones (Pogona barbata, one of the Bearded Dragon species, and the Water Dragons, Physignathus spp). Although in German, the actual care details such as temperature ranges and humidity are fairly easy to pick up.
Index of Agamid-related articles from herpetological magazines.
Care and Maintenance of Bearded Dragons, Robert Mailloux and Philippe de Vosjoli, Herpetocultural Library. Good, detailed book on the various species of Pogona seen in the pet trade and the proper care necessary.
Bearded Dragons and Frilled Dragons, David Zoffer, TFH. Covers similar ground to the above but includes the Frilled Dragon while omitting details of the many bearded dragon "phases" and "morphs" that Mailloux and de Vosjoli cover.
General Care and Maintenance of Water Dragons, Sailfin Lizards and Basilisks, Philippe de Vosjoli, Herpetocultural Library. A very handy book covering the necessary requirements for these lizards. Interestingly there is a book by TFH covering the same three groups, but I am not sure who brought which book out first.
An absolutely essential link for those interested in Water Dragons is Tricia's Water Dragon Page, a very comprehensive site covering the Chinese Water Dragon (Physignathus cocincus) in particular but with much other herp detail as well.
Basic Care of Uromastyx, Philippe de Vosjoli, Herpetocultural Library. Rather a slim volume for de Vosjoli which one suspects he may have brought out to fill what he perceived as a need in the market. I hope he follows this up with a more detailed work.
Uromastyx and Butterfly Agamids, Jerry G Walls, TFH. While I haven't always been enthusiastic about some TFH books which can be very basic, Jerry G Walls always writes well and covers the subject. This book details all the Uromastyx and Leiolepis lizards, including their natural range and their requirements. Recommended.
www.kingsnake.com has a list of Australian agamids with photographs.
Our special thanks to Gene Jenkins of Montezumas Reptiles for Xenagama information.
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