Agama picticauda
Silhouette: Natalie Claunch · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report an African Redhead Agama sighting in Monrovia on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report an African Redhead Agama in Monrovia on a given day, against about 10% in February and August–October, the lowest months. That is one of Monrovia's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 400 mm in August. June and July have too few records to rate.
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.
4th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate African Redhead Agama sightings, Monrovia ranks 4th at about 40%. The best odds are in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire, about 80%), Miami (United States, about 40%) and Accra (Ghana, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Redhead Agama is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Monrovia (5 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.
