Calotes emma

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Calotes emma
Calotes-emma-alticristatus-emma-grays-forest-lizard-khao-yai-national-park.jpg
Calotes emma alticristatus in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Agamidae
Genus: Calotes
Species:
C. emma
Binomial name
Calotes emma
Gray, 1845[1]
Subspecies
  • Calotes emma alticristatus
    Schmidt, 1925
  • Calotes emma emma
    Gray, 1845

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 endemic to China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Etymology[]

The specific name, emma, is in honor of English conchologist Maria Emma Gray, the wife of John Edward Gray, the describer of this species.[2]

Morphology[]

Physical Structure: 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. Dorsal crest well developed on the neck and on the anterior part of the trunk, gradually disappearing behind. A transverse fold in front of each shoulder; gular sac but little developed. Tail compressed. About fifty-one series of scales round the middle of the trunk.

Color Pattern: Brownish olive, with brown bands across the back, which arc lighter in the middle and interrupted by a white band running along each side of the back; eyelids with short, radiating brown streaks; a brown band from behind the eye to above the tympanum; fold before the shoulder black, with an irregular white margin; legs and tail with indistinct dark cross bands.

Maximum total length (including tail): 40 cm (16 in). Common total length: 28 cm (11 in). Snout-to-vent length (SVL): 7.5 cm (3.0 in).

Maximum published weight: ? g.

Distribution[]

Bangladesh (Satchari National Park, Bandarban Hill District), Cambodia, China (Guangdong, Yunnan), India (Assam), Laos, Malaysia (Peninsular), Myanmar, Thailand (including Phuket) & Vietnam (including Pulo Condore Islands) and Possibly in Bhutan.

An inhabitant of Mergui, whence have received it from Professor Oldham, ranging northwards perhaps to the Khasya Hills; extremely doubtful as an inhabitant of Afghanistan. Mr. Blyth mentions it amongst a collection made by Captain Bedmore at Schwe Gyen on the Sitang River in Pegu.

Vernacular names[]

  • Bengali: কেশর গিরিগিটি, ঝুঁটি গিরিগিটি, ঝুঁটি রক্তচোষা, যুথিয়াল গিরিগিটি (Juthial girigiti)
  • Burmese: Poat-Tin-Nyo
  • Chinese: 棕背树蜥
  • English: Crested forest lizard, Emma Gray's crested forest lizard, Emma Gray's forest lizard and Spiny-headed forest lizard.

Habitat[]

Terrestrial and arboreal; diurnal; inhabits various forest habitats including dry deciduous, coastal, and moist evergreen.

Diet[]

Insectivorous;[3] feeds on termites, grasshoppers, ants, cockroaches, beetles, diverse species of moths and low flying butterflies and soil-living insects and their larvae.[4]

Reproduction[]

Oviparous; female lays 10-12 eggs in May–June; incubation period about 60–70 days.

Human uses[]

Used in pet trade. Play rolls in eco-system by eating various types of insects and otherwise.

Threat to humans[]

Non-venomous and completely harmless to humans.

IUCN threat status[]

Not evaluated (NE).

Subspecies[]

  • Schmidt, 1925 [5]
  • Gray, 1845 [5]

References[]

  1. ^ Gray JE (1845). Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xxviii + 289 pp. (Calotes emma, new species, pp. 244-245).
  2. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Calotes emma, p. 83).
  3. ^ B. K. Tikader; R. C. Sharma. "Handbook of Indian Lizards" (PDF). Faunaofindia.nic.in. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  4. ^ Basant K. Agarwala; Joydeb Majumder (February 2015). "Calotes emma Gray, 1845 (Squamata: Agamidae): Range extension and new addition to the reptilian fauna of Tripura, northeast India". Researchgate.net. doi:10.15560/11.2.1562. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Calotes emma at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 December 2014.

External links[]

Further reading[]

  • Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. ... Agamidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I-XXXII. (Calotes emma, p. 324 + Plate XXV, figure 1).
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