Calotes versicolor
Daudin, 1802
CAL-oh-teez — VER-sih-kuh-lor
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Native to southern Asia. It was introduced via the pet trade in Broward and St. Lucie counties, Florida (Enge and Krysko, 2004, Florida Scientist 67: 226–230; Enge and Krysko, 2019, Calotes “versicolor” complex. Pages 352–353 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida), and is established in St. Lucie County after a reptile dealer imported and released lizards from Pakistan in 1978 (Enge and Krysko, 2004, op. cit.; Krysko et al., 2019, op. cit.). Zug et al. (2006, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series 57: 35–68) demonstrated that C. versicolor is a species complex but did not include specimens from Pakistan or Florida to identify which cryptic species they belong to.
(Krysko, Kenneth and Travis W. Taggart. 2025. Established Exotic Species. Pages 64-87 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
(, Museum Voucher)
(, Observation)
(, Literature Record),
(, Citizen Science),
( Fossil)
Open icons indicate questionable records, including those with coordinate uncertainty greater than 10,000 m (approximately 6 miles); click a marker to view record details.
Occurrences:;
12
Total;
12
Museum;
0
Other
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- (Version: 2025.03.31.08.05.43)
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Province/State Distribution:
Taxonomic Etymology:
A tree-dwelling agamid known for changing color.
Calotes — From Greek kalos (καλός), “beautiful,” and possibly ōt-, “ear.” The name may reference the ornate or striking appearance, especially during breeding season.
versicolor — Latin for “of various colors” or “changeable in color.” Refers to this species’ ability to change coloration, particularly in males during display or stress.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Long-legged Calotes (Agama vultuosa: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Indian Calotes (Calotes tiedemani: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1802 "1801"
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Daudin, Francois M. Histoire naturelle des rainettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds. [Natural history of tree frogs, frogs and toads.] Quarto version. de L'imprimerie de Bertrandet, Rue de Sorbonne, Paris, France. 468pp.
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2004
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Enge, Kevin M. and Kenneth L. Krysko. A new exotic species in Florida, the bloodsucker lizard, Calotes versicolor (Daudin 1802) (Sauria: Agamidae). Biological Sciences 67(3):226-230
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2006
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Zug, George R., Herrick H. K. Brown, James A. Schulte II, and Jens V. Vindum. Systematics of the Garden Lizards, Calotes versicolor group (Reptilia, Squamata, Agamidae), in Myanmar: Central dry zone populations. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 4 57(2):35–68
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2011
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Meshaka, Walter E. Jr. A runaway train in the making: The exotic amphibians, reptiles, turtles, and crocodilians of Florida. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 6(Monograph 1):1-107
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2019
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Krysko, Kenneth L., Kevin M. Enge, and Paul E. Moler (Editor) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 728pp.
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