Agamidae

Agama mwanzae Loveridge 1923

The Agamas ( Agamidae ) form a family within the Squamata. They inhabit a large part of the Old World and Australia and here a wide variety of habitats. This shows the great adaptability of the Agamas. Can be found, except in very cold areas and in the water they pretty much anywhere in the designated area. They inhabit steppes, as well as forests and wilderness areas.

Anatomy, lifestyle, behavior

Agamas have adapted to a wide variety of habitats. The type and shape of the scales plays a role, as well as the length of the tail - Flying Dragons ( Draco ) need him to control while gliding from one tree to the next - and the training of the feet with wide skin seams, allow running water. All Agamas can see extremely well. The eye is the most important and most highly developed sensory organ of these lizards. Is also very important hearing. The sense of smell is not as well developed, but the Agamidae olfactory cells in the nasal passage and also have the Jacobson organ. With this organ, the animals can also perceive odors.

Almost all the Agamas ( thorn -tailed Agama lizards and sailing not ) feed mainly on animal food and a small degree of plant food. The diet consists mainly of insects of all kinds, to small mammals. Some species such as the Thorny Devil ( Moloch horridus ) feed exclusively on ants and termites. Drinking water is either absorbed directly or through the skin from the humidity ( species-specific ), depending on the habitat.

The Agamas are predominantly diurnal. Due to the sun's heat, they refuel their necessary body heat because they are not able to store sensible heat.

System

Agamas belong to the iguana -like and form together with the chameleons the senior -less taxon Acrodonta.

The internal classification of Agamas lay for a long time in the dark. Only the primitive Butterfly and spiny-tailed lizards were placed in the subfamily Uromasticinae, all other Agamengattungen among the Agaminae.

In phylogenetic studies in recent years, it has three Hauptkladen found, which have a different distribution. The Amphibolurinae include the genera of Australia and New Guinea, which Draconinae come from South Asia, and the Agaminae include most Agamen Africa, West and Central Asia, and the European Hardun. Schmetterlingsagamen, spiny-tailed lizards and the sails remain systematically isolated in their own subfamilies.

The kinship relations provides the following cladogram is:

Pleurodonta ( iguanas, and relatives)

Chameleons ( Chamaeleonidae )

Spiny-tailed lizards ( Uromasticinae )

Schmetterlingsagamen ( Leiolepis )

Amphibolurinae

Sail lizards ( Hydrosaurus )

Draconinae

Agaminae

Subfamilies and genera of the Agamas:

  • Subfamily spiny-tailed lizards ( Uromasticinae ) Theobald, 1868 Saara Gray, 1845
  • Uromastyx Merrem, 1820
  • Schmetterlingsagamen ( Leiolepis )
  • Amphibolurus Wagler, 1830
  • Caimanops
  • Chelosania
  • Frilled Lizard ( Chlamydosaurus ) Gray, 1827
  • Soldatenagamen ( Ctenophorus )
  • Diporiphora
  • Hypsilurus Peters, 1867
  • Intellagama Wells & Wellington, 1985
  • Lophognathus
  • Thorny Devil ( Moloch ) Gray, 1841
  • Water Dragons ( Physignathus ) Cuvier, 1829
  • Bearded Dragons ( Pogona ) Ahl, 1926
  • Rankinia
  • Tympanocryptis
  • Sail lizards ( Hydrosaurus ) Kaup, 1828
  • Nackenstachler ( Acanthosaura ) Ahl, 1926
  • Aphaniotis Peters, 1864
  • Bronchocela
  • Beautiful lizard ( Calotes ) Cuvier, 1817
  • Hornagamen ( Ceratophora ) Gray, 1834
  • Taubagamen ( Cophotis ) Peters, 1861
  • Flying Dragons ( Draco ) Linnaeus, 1758
  • Winkelkopfagamen ( Gonocephalus ) Kaup, 1825
  • Japalura
  • Lyrakopfagamen ( Lyriocephalus ) Merrem, 1820
  • Lophocalotes Günther, 1872
  • Oriocalotes Günther, 1864
  • Mantheyus
  • Otocryptis Wagler, 1830
  • Pseudocalotes
  • Ptyctolaemus
  • Salea
  • Sitana Cuvier, 1829
  • Acanthocercus Fitzinger, 1843
  • Agama Daudin, 1802 Agama agama
  • Agama mwanzae
  • Agama lebretoni
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