Vinu Mathew sent me a photograph of a
Spotted Toad-headed Agama, identified due to its colouration, size and shape,
transverse bars on the body and tail and the fact it was in Sabkha habitat
rather than sandy habitat. Vinu has kindly allowed me to use his photo om my
website. The Spotted Toad-headed Agama Phrynocephalus
maculatus, also called the Blacktail Toad-headed Agama, is a member of the
Agamidae family, and has a body colour that is highly variable, but typically
has distinct brown bars across the body and tail. It also tends to match the
colour of its background and lizards found on pale coastal sands tend to be
paler and less patterned than those on red, inland sands. The agamid lizards
are also known as the chisel-teeth lizards due to the compressed, fused teeth
being firmly attached to the upper jaw, unlike most other lizards which have
loosely attached teeth. The head is short and broad, with a deep forehead and
snub nose, and the flattened body is wide and strong and covered in rough skin
with overlapping scales. The long, flattened tail is rounded at the base and
has a black tip on the underside which, when raised, is used in visual signals.
The spotted toad-headed agama is known from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Turkmenistan, Syria, Oman, northern Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab
Emirates. The species inhabits harder sandy surfaces where it is often
associated with coastal salt flats known as ‘sabkhas’ ad rocky islands. The
Arabian Toad-headed Agama prefers sandy desert areas. They are active in all
but the hottest hours of the day looking for insect prey and during the hottest
periods, they will stand high on extended legs to limit contact with the sand,
balancing on fingertips and heels while using the tail as a prop. They are able
to sink rapidly into the sand by vibrating the body in a process called ‘shimmy
burial’, and it uses this behaviour to escape from predators or create a
nocturnal shelter. They lay eggs, producing a clutch of one to seven which are
incubated for around six to eight weeks in a burrow.
