Agama picticauda
Silhouette: Natalie Claunch · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% 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 |
No species of the same family or order lives in Everglades National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an African Redhead Agama sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 773 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 54 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report an African Redhead Agama in Everglades National Park on a given day, against about 40% in January, the lowest month.
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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate African Redhead Agama sightings, Everglades National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 20%) and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Redhead Agama is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Everglades National Park (773 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.
