Spending the weekend at Ann’s Villa just north of the Zuurberg Mountains in the southern Karoo, I discovered this little dude enjoying the afternoon sun. He allowed me to take out my camera and snap a couple of pictures of him, even lifting up his head for a better pose. Now I’m not a lizard expert but I’m sure it’s a Agama. Whether it’s a Southern rock agama or a Blue headed tree agama I’m not too sure. Going by pictures I have found on the net I’m going to assume (and it’s always dangerous to assume) that it is the former.
The Southern rock agama (Agama atra) is a species of lizard from the Agamidae family and occurs in South Africa. They normally live in small colonies on rocky outcrops with the males having bright blue heads. The females and young are a more uniform greyish-brown and are much more shy. They can grow up to about 25 cm and has a thin dorsal crest that runs the length of its body. The Agama’s natural predators in the wild include the fiscal shrike and various snakes.
Definitely an Agama. Nice shot from this poser.