Chalarodon madagascariensis
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
Chalarodon madagascariensis is a species of Malagasy terrestrial iguanian lizard native to western, southern, and south eastern Madagascar. Until 2015, it was thought to be the only member of its genus, but a second species, C. steinkampi was recognised in 2015. It is not yet clear if the distributional range of these two species overlaps.
The species inhabits mainly coastal, semi-arid to arid regions and almost entirely open, or very sparsely vegetated habitats with sandy soil in the province of Toliara, and in the southwestern provinces of Fianarantsoa and Majunga in the southwest of Madagascar.
This species is widespread in western, southern, and eastern Madagascar. Calarodon madagascariensis is most easily distinguished from C. steinkampi by its keeled gular and ventral scales, which are unkeeled in the latter species. Total length is up to 223mm, usually about 200mm.
The Madagascar sand lizards are insectivores. In addition to insects, sometimes plants are ingested, particularly in the form of leaves and roots. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berenty Reserve | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
More parks will be added in future updates.
No species of the same family or order lives in Berenty Reserve, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Madagascar Iguana sighting in Berenty Reserve on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 5 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and November
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Madagascar Iguana in Berenty Reserve on a given day, against about 40% in May, the lowest month. June, September and December–March have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Madagascar Iguana sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Berenty Reserve, in our data
Berenty Reserve is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Madagascar Iguana sightings: about 80% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Madagascar Iguana is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Berenty Reserve (24 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
