Lizard Species Of The Tropical Jungle

Agamids - Malaysia's Magnificent Tree Lizard Species

By By Jeet Sukumaran

Brightly colored in greens, blues, reds, oranges and yellows, and festooned with spines, crests, sails, the agamid lizard species grace rainforest trees like jewels in a crown.

Mostly active during the day, I often come across them at night when looking for frogs, when they are found sleeping on riverside trees and bent saplings, and they are always a pleasure to behold.

There are several genera of these species in Peninsular Malaysia, quite varied in size, appearance, habits and habitats.

The largest of the West Malaysian agamids are those in the genus Gonocephalus that has five species - Gonocephalus grandis, Gonocephalus belli, Gonocephalus abbotti, Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus and Gonocephalus robinsoni.

Gonocephalus grandis, or the Great Anglehead Lizard, is often found nearby streams or flowing water. In fact, the juveniles - which look different from adults because they lack the spectacular "sail" and are decorated in alternating bands of dark and light brown - are usually seen sleeping horizontally on slender branches overhanging streams as an escape strategy.

The adults are much more majestic looking, especially the males, dressed in bright green with a yellow-spotted blue underbelly, and can be found nearly anywhere roosting vertically on tree trunks in forest and adjacent to water.

Gonocephalus belli is no less pretty, with a spiky crest instead of a smooth sail, and it is found in many places in the tropical rainforest. Gonocephalus abbotti is a very rare lizard species, and I have only seen it once, deep in the heart of Temengor.

Other Gonocephalus lizard species occur in much more specific locales - Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus, the Chameleon Anglehead Lizard, can only be spotted in the Tioman group of islands, while Gonocephalus robinsoni is only observed in the biologically rich highland forests.

Some agamids tend to be smaller, but are just as beautiful and interesting. The Horned Tree Lizard, Acanthasaura armata, for example, indeed bears two graceful "horns" on its head as its name testifies.

Other agamids are quite tolerant of human disturbance, and I will warrant that most of you should be able to encounter at least one species in your gardens - the Garden Fence Lizard, Calotes versicolor.

Probably the most spectacular and definitely the most evolutionarily derived agamid group are the gliding or flying lizards, from the genus Draco. At rest, they look quite ordinary.

But they have modified ribs that expand outwards, stretching out a thin membrane of fantastically decorated skin to form airfoils.

In fact, while other Malaysian amphibians and reptiles have taken to the air - such as a few geckos, snakes and frogs – Draco lizard species are probably the most accomplished herpetological flyers.

For example, a colleague, herpetologist L. Lee Grismer, has reported seeing Draco lizards chase each other in the air around a tree like miniature fighter jets.

However, the pigeon-sized Draco fimbriatus, or Yellow-bearded Gliding Lizards, are quite ponderous flyers due to their size and high wing loading that restricts them to the deep forest where tall dipterocarp trees allow for high perches from which to launch.

Despite being such a diverse group of lizard species, they all share the same evolutionary lineage.

And while they have taken to the trees – and even the air in some species – successfully for survival, they must often forego the safety of their lofty towers to lay eggs in the ground and hopefully stay out of sight.

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