The Caucasian agama is a large mountain lizard. Caucasian agama (Laudakia caucasia) Caucasian agama range

Steppe agama- a medium-sized lizard (length up to 10-15 cm) with pronounced sexual dimorphism in color. Lives in deserts and semi-deserts of the Eastern Ciscaucasia and Central Asia. Outside Soviet Union widespread in northern regions Iran and Afghanistan, in the northwestern part of China.

The color of the steppe agama is quite variable, but usually it is gray or grayish-yellow (the color of sand), and has large dark spots, and on the tail and upper side of the paws there are vague dark transverse stripes. Body color depends on the ambient temperature and the mood of the animal. When frightened or strongly excited, sexual dimorphism in color becomes more noticeable: in males the throat, belly, lower part of the sides and limbs become dark blue, while in females this does not happen.

It lives in open areas, but in extreme heat it uses rodent holes, cracks in the soil, and voids under stones and plant roots as shelters. To protect the body from overheating on hot soil in the heat, it climbs onto the branches of saxaul and other shrubs. Territorial males have their own areas and protect them from other individuals. This must be taken into account when keeping agamas in order to avoid fights between males.

In nature, the agama feeds on beetles, ants, bedbugs and spiders, in addition, it eats leaves, stems and flowers of plants, especially in spring.

In captivity, it is kept in "Desert" type terrariums at a temperature of 27-29 ° C, with heating. It eats well mealworms, cockroaches, crickets, and green food includes dandelion leaves and flowers.

Sometimes lays eggs in a common terrarium.

Website "Siberian Zoological Museum" (www.bionet.nsc.ru), photo by Yu.K. Zinchenko

Practical work No. 1

“Study of the adaptability of organisms to their environment”
Purpose of the work: consider, using specific examples, the adaptability of organisms to their environment.

Equipment: table showing different types of insect limbs, images of animals from the same genus, sources additional information, determinants or identification cards.
Work progress

1. 
   Consider various types limbs of insects (running, jumping, swimming, digging). Give examples of insects that have these types of limbs. What do their structures have in common? What's different? Explain the reasons for these differences.

1. 
   Look at the images of the animals offered to you. Fill out the table.

3. Draw a conclusion about the adaptability of specific living organisms to living conditions.

1.
A - running (ant limb)

B- jumping (grasshopper limb)

B- digging (limb of the mole cricket)

G- swimming (limb of a swimming beetle)

The limbs of insects, representing a system of levers movably connected to each other with a large number degrees of freedom, capable of varied and perfect movements.

The limbs are used to move insects. Differences in the structure of the limbs depend on the diverse specialization of insect life, on environment.

For example: the jumping limb has powerful muscles, the running limbs are longer than the digging limbs.
Agama Caucasian
2.

Agama steppe

View	Area	Habitat	Body shape and color	Claw development
Agama Caucasian	Transcaucasia, Dagestan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan.	Mountains, rocks, rocky slopes, large boulders.	Color often depends on the background environment. It can be olive-gray, dirty-brown, ash-gray. Length up to 36 cm, weight up to 160 g, body and head flattened, scales heterogeneous. Has a long tail.
Agama steppe	Desert and steppe zones Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Northern Iran, etc.	Sandy, clayey, rocky deserts, semi-deserts. They often settle near water.	The color is light gray, with oval spots. With age, the color changes. Males are brighter than females. Length no more than 30 cm. Scales are uniform, ribbed with spines. Has a long tail.	Agamas have thin fingers with short hooked claws, the limbs are equipped with five or more fingers, with the fourth finger longer than the third.

Conclusion: organisms adapt to specific environmental conditions. This can be seen in a specific example of agamas. Means of protecting organisms - camouflage, protective coloration, mimicry, behavioral adaptations and other types of adaptations allow organisms to protect themselves and their offspring.

(Eichwald, 1831)
(= Stellio caucasius Eichwald, 1831; Agama caucasia (Eichwald, 1831); Agama reticulata Nikolsky, 1912)

Appearance. Large lizards with a body size of up to 15-16 cm and a tail length of up to 20-23 cm. Males are slightly larger than females. The body and head, as well as the base of the tail, are strongly flattened.

Scales the bodies are heterogeneous: along the ridge there is a path of pentagonal or hexagonal, almost smooth or slightly ribbed, scales that differ from the dorsal-lateral ones not only in shape, but also more large size: in the area of ​​the shoulder blades they become smaller and then gradually turn into very small granular scales of the neck. Behind the eardrum and on the sides of the neck are folds of skin covered at the free ends with enlarged scales. Ridge Scales several times smaller than the upper-tail ones. Ventral scales quadrangular, smooth and arranged in more or less regular transverse and oblique longitudinal rows. Scales on the throat and on the chest are smooth, without ribs. The throat fold is well defined. Tail scales with blunt ribs turning into dense, short spines and arranged in regular transverse rings: every two (extremely three) rings form a well-defined segment corresponding to one caudal vertebra.

Upper tail scales of agamas:
1 - Himalayan agama (Laudakia himalayana), 2 - Caucasian agama, 3 - Khorasan agama (Laudakia erythrogastra), 4 - Turkestan agama (Laudakia lehmanni) and 5 - steppe agama (Trapelus sanguinolentus)

Fingers the hind legs are noticeably compressed laterally; the fourth finger on them is longer than the third. Adult males have 3-5 rows callous scales(pore) in front of the cloacal slit and a large group of such scales in the middle of the abdomen.

General coloring The upper side of the body is olive-gray, dirty brown or ash-gray with small black or yellowish spots forming a complex mosaic pattern. Coloring largely depends on the background of the surrounding landscape and on the physiological state of the animal. On light calcareous rocks, lizards are usually ash-gray, while in basaltic lavas they are brown, often almost black. In females, the belly is light, pinkish-cream, in males it is dirty gray, dark olive in the middle and in front of the cloacal slit. The throat is the same color, but with a more or less pronounced marble pattern.

IN breeding season the throat, chest, forelimbs and partly the belly acquire an intense blackish-blue, almost black color. The tail has vague transverse stripes.

Spreading. The Caucasian agama is distributed in the eastern half of the Caucasus, northeastern Turkey, northern Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan and southern Central Asia. Within former USSR- eastern and southern Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan; The main habitat in Central Asia is Turkmenistan: the Krasnovodsk plateau, Meshed sands, Small and Large Balkhans, Kopetdag and Badkhyz. Further to the east, localities are known from the vicinity of Chubek (southern Tajikistan). On the territory of Russia it is found in Dagestan in the vicinity of the village of Kumtor-Kala and, according to literary data, near the villages of Akhty and Rutul.

Taxonomy of the species. On the territory of Russia and neighboring countries there are two subspecies: Laudakia caucasia caucasia And Laudakia caucasia triannulata Ananjeva et Atajev, 1984. The second subspecies is known only from the Meshed sands near the village of Madau.

Habitats. Lives in the mountains, where it mainly adheres rocks, rocky slopes with sparse xerophytic vegetation and single rocky blocks. This xerophilic species widely inhabits all mountain and foothill biotopes. Sometimes, as, in particular, populations of Laudakia caucasia triannulaia in Turkmenistan, agamas live on the slopes of crumbling sandy ravines, cutting through fixed ridge sands with Kandym-Cherkez-Boyalych plant association with sedge bluegrass at an altitude of 180-200 m above sea level. It is also found among ruins, on rocky fences and road slopes. Known in the mountains in all zones, starting from the foothill plain to an altitude of 3370 m above sea level. Sometimes it climbs bushes and trees in search of food and shelter. As shelters it uses cracks, gullies and depressions in rocks, between stones and, less commonly, burrows. The abundance of stones of various sizes on the lower slopes of the mountains creates favorable conditions for life, there is usually an increased concentration of individuals here. Favorite places The habitats are old buildings and dilapidated fortresses.

Activity. Daytime activity. Depending on the temperature in spring and autumn, agamas are found only in the middle of the day, and in hotter summer days They are characterized by two types of activity cycle: morning and evening. Caucasian agama - normal look, one of the most numerous in Turkmenistan and Transcaucasia. On average, 3-5 individuals per 1 hectare were counted per 1 km of route in Turkmenistan.

Reproduction. Agamas begin to reproduce in the third year of life with a body length of more than 100 mm. Calendar dates depend on specific climatic conditions year and area, starts earlier than everyone else pairing in lizards living in the lower zones of the mountains (in the first ten days of March), and mass mating occurs in April-May. A male usually mates with 2-3 females, who constantly live in his area, forming a kind of “harem”. Set aside eggs(from 5 to 14) at the end of May - July. The young emerge from the eggs starting at the end of July, the incubation period is about 2 months, the body size of newborns is 36-45 mm.

Nutrition. They feed on insects, various beetles, hymenoptera, locusts, lepidoptera, centipedes, spiders, very rarely small vertebrates (small lizards, blind snakes), phalanges. An important role in nutrition is played by plant foods, mainly flowering heads and buds of flowers, soft shoots and leaves, hawthorn fruits, buckthorn and blackberry berries.

Wintering. It winters in rock cracks, cliffs and crevices, under stones at a depth of 5-45 cm, sometimes in groups of up to 35 individuals. Animals of different ages can be in one wintering shelter, with young and adult lizards being kept separately. In Turkmenistan, wintering lasts from November to early March, in the Caucasus mountains - from October to March.

Similar species. The Caucasian agama differs from other species (Himalayan, Chernova) in its larger size. From the Khorasan agama - smooth throat and chest scales, and from the Turkestan agama - scales of the dorsal track of uniform size.

On our website you can also find information on anatomy, morphology and ecology of reptiles: general characteristics of reptiles, integument, movement, and skeleton of reptiles, digestive organs and nutrition, respiratory organs and gas exchange, circulatory system and blood circulation, excretory organs and water-salt metabolism, genitals and reproduction, nervous system and sensory organs, behavior and image life, annual life cycle, geographical distribution and role in biocenoses, the importance of reptiles for humans, as well as: some rules of zoological nomenclature, definition of reptiles by external characteristics, recommended literature on reptiles.

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The Caucasian agama is a fairly large animal. The length of the body without a tail reaches 15 cm, and the tail is twice as long longer than body.

The Caucasian agama is more massive than the steppe one, its body is strongly flattened. The scales covering the body are heterogeneous: among the small scales there are larger, ribbed and awl-shaped scales. The folds of skin on the neck and sides of the head are covered with enlarged conical scales. The eardrum is located on the surface of the head (and not in a depression, like in the steppe agama). The scales covering the tail are arranged in regular rings, with every two rings forming a well-defined segment.

From above, the agama is painted in brown or gray tones, depending on the main background of the habitat: on light limestone rocks it is ash-gray, on basalts it is brown and even almost black, on red sandstones it is reddish-brown.

The ventral side is covered with smooth scales and colored light gray or cream. On the throat there is a dark marble pattern. Young agamas have a clearly visible pattern of alternating dark and light transverse stripes.

Where does the Caucasian agama live?

The Caucasian agama is distributed in the eastern part of the Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and the south of Central Asia. In Russia, it is found in the mountainous Dagestan.

This lizard is a characteristic inhabitant of the mountains. It lives on rocks, in gorges, on scree, and even on free-standing huge boulders. Various human buildings and ruins are also inhabited by these lizards.

Despite its external clumsiness, the Caucasian agama moves deftly among the stones. Developed claws on powerful paws allow it to hold on to steep slopes, vertical walls, and smooth boulders. This large lizard It can even jump from stone to stone at a distance of up to 40 centimeters. Occasionally it crawls onto trees or bushes. Cracks, crevices and spaces between stones serve as refuges for the Caucasian agama.

In the places of its distribution, the Caucasian agama is numerous and constantly catches the eye. Like the steppe agama, which chooses bushes as observation points, the Caucasian agama is located on towering rocks or on steep slopes and observes what is happening around from there.

Lifestyle

When danger approaches, she rushes to the shelter with lightning speed and, camouflaged, presses against the stones located at its entrance. If in this way it is not possible to hide from the enemy, the agama goes into hiding. There it inflates its body, its awl-shaped scales cling to all the surrounding irregularities, and therefore it is very difficult to pull the lizard out of there.

Males of the Caucasian agama, at an observation post, protect their territory from the invasion of other males. At the same time, they periodically squat on their forelimbs (just like male steppe agama). If a stranger violates the boundaries, the owner of the site rushes at him: this attack is enough to put the “invader” to flight. A female (or two, and sometimes even four) constantly lives in the male’s territory. The male is in contact with them all the time, even when the breeding season ends. The courtship behavior of Caucasian dragons exhibits elements unknown in other lizards, for example, the male placing his head on the neck or head of the female. Since all females live within the strictly protected territories of some male, wandering males who do not have such territories do not participate in reproduction (usually these are young individuals).

Like most lizards, adult agamas constantly live in one place, but they often have to migrate. The fact is that for most desert lizards, finding a wintering place in their individual area is not a problem. But in the biotopes of the Caucasian agama, the situation is different - rocky slopes freeze deeply in winter and finding a sufficiently deep and reliable shelter here is not easy. Therefore, agamas can migrate from their individual areas to a distance of up to 500 meters. Since there are few places suitable for wintering, each of them can contain several (and sometimes several dozen) agamas - both adults and young. In the spring, agamas make reverse migrations - to their permanent places habitat.

The same problem faces Caucasian agama females when searching for a place to lay eggs. It is not easy to find it among the rocks, and therefore the females leave their inhabited individual areas and migrate to where there are conditions suitable for the development of eggs ( high humidity, appropriate shelters). Sometimes they have to travel distances of over three kilometers. The young hatched in the egg-laying areas overwinter here and then settle.

Body temperature of those in torpor winter shelters lizards is from -0.8 to +9.8°C. During changeable, warm southern winters There are periods of steady temperature rise, and then, even in January, Caucasian agamas can appear on the surface - their winter sleep is not very deep.

What does the Caucasian agama eat?

Like the steppe agama, the diet of the Caucasian agama is very varied. These are mainly invertebrates, which she looks out for from her observation points: beetles, hymenoptera, butterflies, spiders, centipedes. On occasion, the agama will also eat a small lizard (even juveniles of its own species) or a snake. An important role in its nutrition is played by plant foods - leaves, fruits, seeds.

Reproduction of Caucasian agamas

The female lays from 4 to 14 large (up to 2.5 centimeters long) eggs in a hole she dug under a stone or in a rock crack. The development of the eggs lasts one and a half to two months, after which small agamas with a body length (without tail) of about four centimeters are born. They grow quickly and reach sexual maturity in the third year of life.

These mountain agamas inhabit the arid regions of Transcaucasia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Dagestan, southern and eastern Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, eastern Turkey (Eastern Anatolia), Afghanistan, Iraq, northern Iran, northeastern Pakistan, and India. In the mountains it is found up to an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level. In the southern part of its range it forms a subspecies Laudakia caucasia triannulata, whose representatives are currently classified as another species - the fine-scaled mountain agama ( Laudakia microlepis).

Distribution area of ​​the Caucasian agama (Laudakia caucasia)

Caucasian agama ( Laudakia caucasia) is a medium-sized lizard. The total body length of an adult animal is about 35-36 cm, of which the distance from the tip of the muzzle to the anus is about 14-15 cm. The head is wide and flattened. The nostrils are located on the lateral surfaces of the muzzle. The scales on the surface of the head are not increased in size; there are small conical scales on the inside of the auditory openings. The throat pouch is missing. The body is stocky, flattened. The scales on the back are small and keeled. The limbs are strong and strong. The scales on the outer sides of the thighs are enlarged, usually having sharp, spiky edges. The tail is rounded, flattened at the base, covered with larger scales, forming a distinct visible rings. Males have pronounced preanal pores.

The coloration of Caucasian agamas is dominated by gray and olive tones, forming a general background covered with a fuzzy pattern of mutually intersecting black and dark gray lines, as well as yellowish spots with black edging. The belly of females is usually dirty white or yellowish, while that of males is blackish during sexual activity.

In nature, these lizards feed on various invertebrates, as well as some plant leaves.

In case of stress, Caucasian agamas hide in crevices in rocks or large boulders, swell, taking in air, increase in size, tightly fixing themselves in their shelter thanks to their spiny scales.

To keep Caucasian agamas, you need a spacious, high terrarium with good ventilation. The back wall is decorated with stones, bark or other materials that allow the agamas to use the surface for climbing. They provide several vertical shelters, and be sure to place a shallow drinking bowl in the terrarium. The air temperature is maintained at 28-30°C during the day and 20-24°C at night. In a warm corner – up to 38°C. Air humidity is low, about 40-45%. Agamas need bright lighting with the required amount of UV radiation, for which the terrarium is equipped with fluorescent and ultraviolet lamps.

Usually these reptiles are kept alone or in small groups of a male and several females. Shared content several males are unacceptable due to the heightened territoriality of Caucasian agamas. Life expectancy in captivity reaches 14 years.

Reproduction

To stimulate reproduction during the period winter months Caucasian agamas are recommended to arrange wintering, lowering the air temperature to 18 °C and reducing the duration and intensity daylight hours. Mating occurs from March to June. During the season, the female makes one or two clutches of 6-14 eggs each. The duration of incubation at a temperature of 27-30°C is 60-75 days.

Photos