Latastia longicaudata
Silhouette: Gustav Mützel · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Latastia longicaudata, also known commonly as the common long-tailed lizard and the southern long-tailed lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to northern sub-Saharan Africa. There are four recognized subspecies.
L. longicaudata is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Yemen. The following four subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognized as being valid.
Latastia longicaudata andersoni Boulenger, 1921 Latastia longicaudata lanzai Arillo, Balletto & Spanó, 1967 Latastia longicaudata longicaudata (Reuss, 1834) Latastia longicaudata revoili (Vaillant, 1882) Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Latastia.
The subspecific names, lanzai and revoili, are in honor of Italian herpetologist Benedetto Lanza and French naturalist Georges Révoil, respectively. L. longicaudata is oviparous. Arillo A, Balletto E, Spanó S (1967). "Il... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
No species of the same family or order lives in Serengeti National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Long-tailed Lizard sighting in Serengeti National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 11 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.
January–March and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Long-tailed Lizard in Serengeti National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–June and August–December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Long-tailed 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.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Common Long-tailed Lizard sightings, Serengeti National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Long-tailed Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Serengeti 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.
