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484 Featured Specimen
Common agama

Details

Common agama

Agama agama

Size
Total length 15–30 cm · 40–100 g
Diet
Omnivore
Activity
Diurnal
Sociality
Loose group
Lifespan
8–10 years

The common agama is a diurnal lizard often seen on rocks, walls, and settlements in Africa. Breeding males can be strikingly colorful.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
AfrotropicalAfrotropicalAfrotropicalAfrotropical

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It inhabits Afrotropical savanna, grassland, and urban areas. Rocks, walls, logs, basking sites, and nearby refuges are important.

Appearance

Total length 15-30 cm; weight 40-100 g. The body is sturdy, and breeding males may show an orange head with a blue body. Females and young are browner and more cryptic.

Behavior

Diurnal and loosely social, it often basks in visible spots. Males use head-bobbing displays to signal territory and rank.

Feeding

An omnivore, it eats mainly insects, with some plant material and fruit. It chases moving prey on the ground and walls.

Reproduction

Females dig holes in the ground and lay eggs. Hatchlings grow by balancing sunny basking sites with quick retreats to cover.

Notes

It is listed as Least Concern. It adapts well to towns and is one of the more familiar African lizards near people.