Common Green Forest Lizard

Common Green Forest Lizard

Calotes calotes

Silhouette: Vijay Karthick · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Thiruvananthapuram

In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%

8 Verified sightings at Thiruvananthapuram
408 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Common Green Forest Lizard

Calotes calotes, the common green forest lizard, is an agamid lizard found in the forests of the Western Ghats and the Shevaroy Hills in India, and Sri Lanka. Calotes calotes is a considerably large species of agamid, measuring 50 to 65 cm (19.5 to 25.5 in) in length, including the tail.

The length of the head is one and a half times the size of its breadth, and the snout is a little longer than the orbit. The lizard has a concave forehead, swollen cheeks, and smooth, unequal upper head-scales. The canthus rostralis and the supraciliary edge are both sharp. A row of 8 or 9 compressed spines, divided into two groups, is above the tympanum; the diameter of these is less than half that of the orbit. C. calotes has 9 to 11 upper and as many lower labials. The body is compressed, the dorsal scales are large and usually feebly keeled, but sometimes smooth. These scales point backwards and upwards and are as large as or slightly smaller than the ventrals, which are strongly keeled and mucronate. 30 to 35 scales cover the middle of the body. The gular pouch is not developed, the gular scales are feebly keeled, and they are nearly as large as the ventrals. A short oblique fold... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~90%
2 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
3 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
4 Horton Plains National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
5 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
6 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
2 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~40%
3 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Green Forest Lizard in Thiruvananthapuram?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Common Green Forest Lizard sighting in Thiruvananthapuram on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 5 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Common Green Forest Lizard in Thiruvananthapuram?

December

In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Common Green Forest Lizard in Thiruvananthapuram on a given day, against under 5% in January, May–June and October, the lowest months. That is one of Thiruvananthapuram's driest months, with about 60 mm of rain against 290 mm in October.

What time of day is best to see a Common Green Forest Lizard?

Between 6 and 9 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Green Forest Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Thiruvananthapuram the best place to see a Common Green Forest Lizard?

Among the best

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Common Green Forest Lizard sightings, Thiruvananthapuram ranks 2nd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (Sri Lanka, about 40%).

Where does the Common Green Forest Lizard sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Common Green Forest Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Thiruvananthapuram (8 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.

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