Oriental Garden Lizard
Calotes versicolor
Summary 3
The Oriental Garden Lizard, Eastern Garden Lizard or Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor) is an agamid lizard found widely distributed in Asia. It has also been introduced in many other parts of the world.
Behaviour 4
Hunting/foraging behavior:
Adults dwell in trees and use a head-down method to search for any prey—insects or small vertebrates—located below. This is different from the method utilized by juveniles, which prefer to forage at ground-level (Enge and Krysko 2004).
Mating behavior:
The breeding period in their natural range extends from May to early October, beginning with the onset of the southwest monsoon. In other parts of the world, the breeding period aligns with increased rainfall (Pandav et al. 2012).
The development of black patches on the neck region signifies the attainment of sexual maturity. Courtship behavior is extensive, including chases, circling, head bobs, extension of the dewlap, push-ups, neck biting. Change in body color is the first step towards the initiation of courtship. Males choose display sites from which to impress the females; females show their acceptance of the offer using a single head bob and a four-leg push-up display. When the male mounts the female, he uses a neck-bite hold and front-leg hold on the female’s trunk and brings his cloaca in contact with hers in order to insert his hemipenis and complete copulation. After copulation, body color of both male and female returns to normal (after only around 5 seconds) and the female displays submissive behavior. The entire courtship/mating process takes anywhere from 3 to 18 minutes (Pandav et al. 2007).
Enge, K. M. and K. L. Krysko. 2004. A new exotic species in Florida, the Bloodsucker Lizard, Calotes versicolor (Daudin 1802) (Sauria: Agamidae). Florida Scientist 67: 226-230.
Pandav, B. N., S. K. Saidapur, and B. A. Shanbhang. 2007. Ethogram of courtship and mating behavior of garden lizard, Calotes versicolor. Current Science 93: 1164-1167.
Pandav, B. N., S. K. Saidapur, B. A. Shanbhag. 2012. Expression of phenotypic plasticity in hatchlings of the lizard Calotes versicolor (Squamata: Agamidae): influence of nest moisture. Phyllomedusa 11: 13-20.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Angela Christine Chua, all rights reserved, uploaded by Angela Christine Chua
- (c) c michael hogan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by c michael hogan
- Adapted by c michael hogan from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calotes_versicolor
- Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/29682943
