''Calotes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s in the draconine

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Agamidae Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...

. The genus contains 29

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. Some species are known as forest lizards, others as " bloodsuckers" due to their red heads, and yet others (namely '' C. versicolor'') as garden lizards. The genus name ''Calotes'' has been derived from the Greek word ''Καλότης (Kalótës)'', meaning ‘beauty’, referring to the beautiful pattern of this genus.

Geographic range

Species in the genus ''Calotes'' are native to

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

, southern China,

mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and

Ambon Ambon may refer to: Places * Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia ** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province ** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796 * Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...

. Additionally, ''C. versicolor'' has been introduced to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

(USA),

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

, the

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Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

.
Calotes versicolor
'' The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Retrieved 17 January 2013 The greatest

species richness Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative a ...

of the genus is from the Western Ghats, northeast India,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Description

''Calotes'' is distinguished from related genera in having uniform-sized dorsal scales, and lacking a fold of skin extending between the cheek and shoulder, and in having proportionately stronger limbs than ''

Pseudocalotes ''Pseudocalotes'' is a genus of agamid lizards endemic to Southeast Asia. Taxonomy and description ''Pseudocalotes'' was disassociated from the genus ''Calotes'' by Scott Michael Moody in 1980. ''Pseudocalotes'' is distinguished from ''Calotes'' ...

''. Compared to ''

Bronchocela ''Bronchocela'' is a genus of Asian lizards, commonly known as bloodsuckers, crested lizards, and forest lizards, in the family Agamidae. Species There are 13 species in the genus ''Bronchocela'': *'' Bronchocela burmana'' – Burmese green ...

'', ''Calotes'' have a proportionately shorter tail and limbs. ''Calotes'' as we know it today was classified by Moody (1980) prior to which all of the above-mentioned genera were included in this genus.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Calotes'' is still a heterogeneous group that may be divided into the ''C. versicolor'' and ''C. liocephalus'' groups. The former occurs through most of South Asia and further east. All species in this group have their dorsal and lateral scales directed upward. The latter is restricted to the southern Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. All species in this group have their scales directed back, or up and down, or down only. Whether further splitting is necessary or whether the groups constitute

subgenera In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

of a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

''Calotes'' remains to be studied.

Species

Listed alphabetically. * ''

Calotes bachae ''Calotes bachae'' is a species of lizards in the family Agamidae. It is known from southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia. Its range may extend into southern Laos. This species is found in open areas of Cat Tien National Park, in dense tropica ...

'' * '' Calotes bhutanensis'' * ''

Calotes calotes ''Calotes calotes'', the common green forest lizard, is an agamid lizard found in the forests of the Western Ghats and the Shevaroy Hills in India, and Sri Lanka. Description ''Calotes calotes'' is a considerably large species of agamid, meas ...

'' – common green forest lizard * '' Calotes ceylonensis'' – painted-lip lizard, Ceylon bloodsucker * '' Calotes chincollium'' * '' Calotes desilvai'' - Morningside lizard, Ceylon black-band whistling lizard * '' Calotes emma'' – Emma Gray's forest lizard, forest crested lizard ** ''Calotes emma alticristatus'' ** ''Calotes emma emma'' * '' Calotes farooqi'' – Farooq's garden lizard * '' Calotes geissleri'' * '' Calotes goetzi'' * '' Calotes grandisquamis'' – large-scaled forest lizard * '' Calotes htunwini'' * '' Calotes irawadi'' * '' Calotes jerdoni'' – Jerdon's forest lizard * ''

Calotes liocephalus The spineless forest lizard, crestless lizard or lionhead agama (''Calotes liocephalus'') is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. Description ''Calotes liocephalus'' grows to in snout–vent length and in t ...

'' – spineless forest lizard, crestless lizard, lionhead agama * '' Calotes liolepis'' – whistling lizard, Sri Lanka agama * '' Calotes manamendrai'' – Manamendra-Arachchi's whistling lizard * ''

Calotes maria ''Calotes maria'', called commonly the Khasi Hills forest lizard or Assam garden lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to South Asia. Geographic range ''C. maria'' is found in Northeast India (Khasi Hi ...

'' – Khasi Hills forest lizard * ''

Calotes medogensis ''Calotes medogensis'', the Medog bloodsucker, is a species of Agamidae, agamid lizard. It is endemic to Medog County of Tibet (China). References

Calotes, medogensis Reptiles of China Endemic fauna of Tibet Reptiles described in 1984 Tax ...

'' – Medog bloodsucker * '' Calotes minor'' – Hardwicke's bloodsucker * '' Calotes mystaceus'' – Indo-Chinese forest lizard, blue-crested lizard * ''

Calotes nemoricola ''Calotes nemoricola'', the Nilgiri forest lizard, is an agamid lizard found in the Western Ghats of India (Nilgiri Hills, Anaimalai, Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Coorg, Agumbe). Description One detached spine in front of three or two ...

'' – Nilgiri forest lizard * ''

Calotes nigrilabris ''Calotes nigrilabris'', the black-cheek lizard, is an Agamidae, agamid species endemic to Sri Lanka. It can be distinguished easily from Calotes liolepis, painted-lipped lizard by having black bar on mouth rather than white or orange bar. Distr ...

'' – black-cheek lizard * '' Calotes nigriplicatus'' * '' Calotes paulus'' – small forest lizard * ''

Calotes pethiyagodai The Pethiyagoda's crestless lizard (''Calotes pethiyagodai'') is an agamid lizard endemic to Sri Lanka. Locally known as පෙතියාගොඩගේ නොසිලු කටුස්සා (Pethiyagodage nosilu katussa). Description Res ...

'' * ''

Calotes versicolor The oriental garden lizard (''Calotes versicolor''), also called the eastern garden lizard, Indian garden lizard, common garden lizard, bloodsucker or changeable lizard, is an agamid lizard found widely distributed in indo-Malaya. It has also bee ...

'' – Oriental garden lizard, changeable lizard, eastern garden lizard * '' Calotes vindumbarbatus'' * '' Calotes zolaiking'' – Mizoram montane forest lizard Two species formerly treated as members of the genus were separated into a new genus in 2018 - ''

Monilesaurus ''Monilesaurus'' is a genus of lizards in the draconine clade of the family Agamidae and is a new genus described in 2018.''Monilesaurus'' The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Currently it consists of 4 species, with 2 new species and ...

'': * ''

Monilesaurus ellioti ''Monilesaurus ellioti'', also known commonly as Elliot's forest lizard, is a species of arboreal, diurnal, lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. Etymology The specific name, ''ellioti'', is in h ...

'' – Elliot's forest lizard * ''

Monilesaurus rouxii ''Monilesaurus rouxii'', commonly known as Roux's forest lizard, Roux's forest calotes, or the forest blood sucker, is a species of arboreal, diurnal, agamid lizard, which is endemic to hills of peninsular India. In July 2018, it was proposed ...

'' – Roux's forest lizard, Roux's forest Calotes ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or the

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

was originally described in a genus other than ''Calotes''.

Gallery

File:Garden lizard3.jpg, A juvenile male garden lizard seen in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. File:Indian Garden Lizard Calotes versicolor W2 IMG 6829.jpg, A female Oriental garden lizard, ''

''. File:Calotes female.jpg, A female ''Calotes'' at Pune, India. File:Garden Lizard India vs.JPG, A garden lizard, South India. File:Garden Lizard India vs.jpg, A garden lizard, South India. File:Calotes Garden Lizard at Madikai Ambalathukara Kerala 04.jpg, Garden lizard at Madikai Ambalathukara Kerala, India File:Calotes Garden Lizard at Madikai Ambalathukara Kerala 10.jpg, Garden lizard

References