Agama picticauda
Silhouette: Natalie Claunch · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Agama picticauda, also known commonly as Peters's rock agama and the African redhead agama, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to West Africa. A. picticauda occurs in West Africa, from Mauritania in the west to Nigeria in the east. 10
A. picticauda was first introduced to Florida in 1976 through the pet trade. First colonizing Homestead and other areas in Miami-Dade County. Since then it has spread elsewhere in South Florida including the Keys. Introduced populations also exist in La Réunion and the Comoros, with single specimen(s) reported from Cape Verde, Madeira, and Madagascar.
Sightings in South Florida rapidly increased at the end of 2020, indicating that the population has recently also increased rapidly. Further sightings in 2024, as suggested by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that the population has expanded northward into Central Florida as far north as Volusia County.
An awareness letter, drafted by numerous Caribbean-based biologists and conservationists highlights the threat to reptiles across the Caribbean Lesser Antilles if A. picticauda becomes established there. In... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Florida Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 5 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Big Cypress National Preserve, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Redhead Agama sighting in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 37 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an African Redhead Agama in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and September–October, the lowest months. That is one of Big Cypress National Preserve's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain against 260 mm in June.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Redhead Agama sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate African Redhead Agama sightings, Big Cypress National Preserve ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Everglades National Park (United States, about 50%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Redhead Agama is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Big Cypress National Preserve (27 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.
