Roughtail rock agama

Description:

It is a stout lizard and the body is slightly flattened with a broad head. The scales are distinctly tubercular. Like many agamids, L. stellio can change its colour to express its mood.

Habitat:

It basks on stone walls, rocks, and trees. It is usually found in rocky habitats, and is quite shy, being very ready to dive into cracks to hide from potential predators.

Notes:

For the indigenous people of Europe, and perhaps the Middle East, traditionally the excrement of the stellio was a popular medicine for the eyes, also used as a cosmetic, known as cordylea, crocodilea or stercus lacerti (i.e. 'lizard shit'), the faeces being imported to European pharmacies from the Levant