EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Mwanza Flat-headed Rock Agama

Mwanza Flat-headed Rock Agama (Agama mwanzae), Family Agamidae
Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa

Explanation:  This jewel of a reptile is found only in eastern Africa in the savannas and rock outcrops of southern Kenya, northern Tanzania including the Serengeti, and eastern corners of Rwanda and Burundi.  I photographed these individuals in Masai Mara of Kenya. 
  

 
A brightly-colored male doing territorial displays.
Notice the blue coloration on the lower throat and chest,
which becomes visible during these displays.
  

Difficult to catch, these wary and swift-moving lizards live in small colonies and come out to bask and display on rocks.  They are characterized with large, obvious ear openings and brilliant coloration especially in breeding males.  
  

 
Left:  A non-breeding male, with brown body.
Right:  A male showing all red on the body.

Mwanza flat-headed rock agamas have recently become all the rage in the pet business because of their resemblance to Spiderman of the comics.  However, we advocate leaving the lizard in its native habitat.

A juvenile clinging to the vertical bark of a tree in the
savanna, a good 6 meters (18 feet) up.
Note the enlarged spines on the thick part of the
tail, typical of lizards of this family.

Note on taxonomy:
    A number of web sites state that this species is "found in most of sub-Saharan Africa," whereas field guides authored by prominent herpetologists (see below) and reptiles databases denote its range only as in eastern Africa.  The confusion may be that at least some (earlier?) taxonomies denoted this lizard as a subspecies of the very widespread red-headed rock agama (Agama agama), namely as Agama agama mwanzae.  In that case, it would be widespread in distribution.  However, some other web sites that  refer to this lizard simply as Agama mwanzae, that is, as its own species, still erroneously declare that it is widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa.  

Information:
     Branch, B. 1998. Field guide to snakes and other reptiles of southern Africa. Ralph Curtis Books, Sanibel Island, Florida. 399 pp. 
     Branch, B. 2005. Snakes other reptiles and amphibians of east Africa. Stuik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. 144 pp. 
     Spawls, S., K. M. Howell, and R. C. Drewes. 2006. Reptiles and amphibians of East Africa. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford. 240 pp.