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Yellow-spotted agama
Trapelus flavimaculatus
24.9159, 51.3174
Field Notes
Description:
Look at pictures 2, 3 and 4 to see the amazing colour change in this beautiful male agama.
This is a lizard that I've been looking for ever since I arrived in Qatar. It is also known locally as the blue-headed agama.
When we first spotted this individual he was pretty well camouflaged against the sand coloured rock. I was a little bit disappointed about the apparent lack of colouration but then noticed the tail changing colour towards more orange. Then all of a sudden he went from brown to electric blue - within less than a minute! He quickly climbed up to the tallest rock and started doing an impressive display. Clearly we were seen as competition for a few minutes until he changed colour back to normal again. The females are similar to the non-displaying males, but lack the throat flap.
Habitat:
Rocky, desert area. Also found displaying on the top of desert plants.
Notes:
The sequence of the photos shows the colour change from brown to blue and back to brown again. In the fourth picture you can see the bobbing behaviour.
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