The Caucasian agama (''Paralaudakia caucasia'') is a species of

agamid Agamidae is a 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 Phylogenetically, they may be sister to the ...

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 ...

found in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, E/S

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

(Russia), E

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

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Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

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Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and parts of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

Description

Head much depressed; nostril lateral, below the ''canthus rostralis'', slightly tubular. Upper head-scales smooth; occipital not enlarged; small conical spinose scales on the side of the head near the ear, and on the neck; ear larger than the eye-opening. Throat strongly plicate; no gular pouch. Body much depressed, with a very indistinct lateral fold; nuchal and latero-dorsal scales very small, granular; vertebral region with enlarged flat, feebly keeled, rather irregular scales; flanks with enlarged, strongly keeled or spinose scales; no nuchal denticulation; ventral scales smooth, distinctly smaller than the enlarged dorsals. 150 to 160 scales round the middle of the body. Limbs strong, with compressed digits; the scales on the upper surface of limbs much enlarged, strongly keeled, generally spinose; fourth finger slightly longer than third; fourth toe a little longer than third, fifth extending beyond first. Tail rounded, depressed at the base, covered with rather large spinose scales arranged in rings, two rings forming a distinct segment; the length of the tail doos not equal quite twice the distance from gular fold to vent. Male with a large patch of callose preanal scales and an enormous patch of similar scales on the belly. Olivaceous above, with round yellowish black-edged spots, the black frequently forming a network; vertebral region yellowish, limbs with more or less distinct yellowish cross bars; lower surface yellowish in the female, blackish in the breeding male.Boulenger, G. A. 1890. Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia. From snout to vent 5 inches.

Notes

References

* Ananjeva, N. B. and Orlova, V. F. 1979 Distribution and geographic variability of Agama caucasia (Eichwald, 1831) (in Russian). Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences, U.S.S.R. 89, 4-17 * Ananjeva, N.B.; Atajev, J. 1984 Stellio caucasica triannulatus - A new Subspecies of the caucasian Agama from South- Western Turkmenia Trudy Zool. Inst. Akad. Nauk Sssr 124: 4-11 * Ananjeva, N.B. & Tuniev 1994 Some aspects of historical biogeography of Asian rock agamids Russ. J. Herpetol. 1 (1): 43 * Ananjeva, N. & Orlov, N. 2005 Lizards of North Eurasia. Reptilia (GB) (38): 54-63 * Eichwald, E. 1831 Zoologia specialis, quam expositis animalibus tum vivis, tum fossilibus potissimuni rossiae in universum, et poloniae in specie, in usum lectionum publicarum in Universitate Caesarea Vilnensi. Zawadski, Vilnae.

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20070110031253/http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Laudakia_caucasia.jpg
''Laudakia caucasia''
a

Accessed 30 March 2007. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2586143 Reptiles of Azerbaijan Reptiles of Pakistan Reptiles of Afghanistan Reptiles of Central Asia Reptiles of Russia Reptiles described in 1831 Taxa named by Karl Eichwald Paralaudakia