West African Rainbow Lizard

Description:

Male West African Rainbow Lizard (Agama agama africana) - a subspecies of Agama agama and a non-native, invasive species to Florida - approx. 24 inches in total length at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables, Florida. << Nonstressed breeding males of the West African subspecies have brilliant orange heads, an indigo blue or black body and legs, and a tail that is bluish white at the base and has an orange middle segment and black tail tip. Nonbreeding or stressed males are paler and may lack orange on the head. Females and juveniles have yellow or earthen tones on their backs with some barring, and breeding females may have an orangish or bluish blush on their heads. Males may reach 30 cm (12 in) long, but females are smaller. These active, agile, and wary lizards often bask facing the sun, and sun-warmed lizards are more brightly colored than cooler ones. >>

Habitat:

African Redhead Agama -- Nonnative Wildlife. Species detail -- This African species contains 10 different subspecies, which may vary in color among geographic regions and populations. Present populations in Dade, Charlotte, and Florida's Seminole counties are a West African subspecies (africana), but the Broward Co. populations may consist of some individuals of East African subspecies (Enge et al. 2004b). Nonstressed breeding males of the West African subspecies have brilliant orange heads, an indigo blue or black body and legs, and a tail that is bluish white at the base and has an orange middle segment and black tail tip. Nonbreeding or stressed males are paler and may lack orange on the head. Females and juveniles have yellow or earthen tones on their backs with some barring, and breeding females may have an orangish or bluish blush on their heads. Males may reach 30 cm (12 in) long, but females are smaller. These active, agile, and wary lizards often bask facing the sun, and sun-warmed lizards are more brightly colored than cooler ones (Bartlett and Bartlett 1999). A population observed in the Redland area of Dade County in 2002 used low rock walls around a schoolyard and a nearby neighborhood (Enge et al. 2004b). Wilson and Porras (1983) first reported an established population in Dade County, but they were almost certain that it had been extirpated during extensive demolition in the area. In Africa, agamas mostly feeds on ants, grasshoppers, and beetles (James and Porter 1979), but in some areas or during the dry season, they will feed on flowers, grass, dead leaves, and human food (e.g., candy, bread crumbs, cake, pieces of carrot (Romer 1953, Chapman and Chapman 1964, Harris 1964, Cloudsley-Thompson 1981). Large individuals are cannibalistic and may eat their own young (Harris 1964, Cloudsley-Thompson 1981). (credit: http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnat...)

Notes:

DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY OF THE INTRODUCED AFRICAN RAINBOW LIZARD, AGAMA AGAMA AFRICANA (SAURIA: AGAMIDAE), IN FLORIDA http://www.naherpetology.org/pdf_files/2...