Agama aculeata
Silhouette: Natalie Claunch · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ground Agama sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 36th most-seen of the 39 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and May
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Ground Agama in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April and June–January, the lowest months.
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.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Ground Agama sightings, Namib-Naukluft National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 40%) and Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ground Agama is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Namib-Naukluft National Park (5 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.
