Calotes emma
Silhouette: Vijay Karthick · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Calotes emma, commonly known as the forest garden lizard or Emma Gray's forest lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. There are two recognized subspecies.
The specific name, emma, is in honor of English conchologist Maria Emma Gray, the wife of John Edward Gray, the describer of this species. C. emma has the following morphology. Physical Structure: There are three small groups of spines, completely separate from each other, on each side of the head, one behind the superciliary margin and two above each tympanum. The dorsal crest is well developed on the neck and on the anterior part of the trunk, gradually disappearing behind. There is a transverse fold in front of each shoulder, and the gular sac is but little developed. The tail is laterally compressed. There are about 51 series of scales round the middle of the trunk.
Color pattern: The dorsum is brownish olive, with brown bands across the back, which are lighter in the middle and interrupted by a white band running along each side of the back. The eyelids have short, radiating brown streaks. There is a brown band from... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 4 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report an Emma Gray's Forest Lizard sighting in Kaeng Krachan National Park on a given day, based on 122 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 56 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to July
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report an Emma Gray's Forest Lizard in Kaeng Krachan National Park on a given day, against about 20% in November and December, the lowest months. Those are among Kaeng Krachan National Park's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 30 mm in December.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Emma Gray's 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.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Emma Gray's Forest Lizard sightings, Kaeng Krachan National Park ranks 5th at about 40%. The best odds are in Khao Sok National Park (Thailand, about 80%), Khao Luang National Park (Thailand, about 70%) and Cuc Phuong National Park (Vietnam, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Agamidae
The closest relatives of the Emma Gray's Forest Lizard that you can see in Kaeng Krachan National Park (family Agamidae, Dragons) are Boulenger's Pricklenape (about 20%), Burmese Green Crested Lizard (about 10%) and Barred Flying Dragon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Emma Gray's Forest Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kaeng Krachan National Park (122 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.
