Psammophilus dorsalis
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The peninsular rock agama or South Indian rock agama (Psammophilus dorsalis) is a common species of agama found on rocky hills in south India. An allied species, Psammophilus blanfordanus, is found in the Eastern Ghats, but north of the range of this species.
This species of lizard has a large head that is elongated and depressed, with the cheeks swollen in adult males. The snout is longer than the diameter of the orbit (eye cavity). The upper head scales are unequal and smooth or obtusely keeled, the scales being larger on the sinciput (brow) than on the occiput. The canthus rostralis and supraciliary (brow) has a clear and sharp edge, two small separated spines or groups of spines above the ear are present or absent; the diameter of the tympanum is half or a little more than half that of the orbit; it has 10 to 13 upper and as many lower labial scales. The body is slightly flattened; dorsal scales are small, uniform, smooth, or feebly keeled in the adult, and strongly keeled in the young, all pointing backwards and upwards; the dorsal crest is reduced to a ridge of enlarged scales; ventral scales are as large as the dorsals, and smooth (keeled in the young); from... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Dragon sighting in Hyderabad on a given day, based on 56 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 23 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.
April–May and July
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Dragon in Hyderabad on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rock Dragon sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Rock Dragon sightings, Hyderabad ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Jabalpur (India, about 30%) and Bengaluru (India, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rock Dragon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Hyderabad (56 verified sightings), 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.
