Calotes calotes
Silhouette: Vijay Karthick · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Green Forest Lizard sighting in Minneriya National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 19 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Common Green Forest Lizard in Minneriya National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Minneriya National Park's wettest months, with about 340 mm of rain against 20 mm in June.
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.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Common Green Forest Lizard sightings, Minneriya National Park ranks 5th at about 30%. The best odds are in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 90%), Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 40%) and Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Calotes
The closest relatives of the Common Green Forest Lizard that you can see in Minneriya National Park (genus Calotes, Oriental Forest Lizards) are Oriental Garden Lizard (about 70%) and Ceylon Bloodsucker (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Green Forest Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Minneriya National Park (19 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.
