Agama aculeata
Silhouette: Natalie Claunch · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
Agama aculeata, the ground agama, is a species of lizard from the family Agamidae, found in most of sub-Saharan Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Southern Angola, Tanzania, Zambia, Eswatini).
Snout-to-vent length is 76–100 mm. With a triangular head and rounded snout, this agama is coloured olive to reddish-brown (sometimes grey or yellowish) with a light creamy-white to pink belly. There are four or five paired darker blotches on the back—many smaller blotches continue down the tail. Breeding males become blue on the sides of their heads.
Media related to Agama aculeata at Wikimedia Commons Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Ground Agama sighting in Etosha National Park on a given day, based on 71 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 22 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Ground Agama in Etosha National Park on a given day, against about 20% in March–April and June–July, the lowest months. That is one of Etosha National Park's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain against almost none in June.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ground Agama sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all 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 Ground Agama sightings, Etosha National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 40%).
Same genus: Agama
The closest relatives of the Ground Agama that you can see in Etosha National Park (genus Agama, Typical Agamas) are Namib Rock Agama (about 20%) and Etosha Agama (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ground Agama is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Etosha National Park (71 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.
