Diet

What does the Southern Tree Agama eat?

Southern tree agamas are carnivores which feed on a range of invertebrates. Ants make up the main component of their diet.

This species is primarily an ambush hunter and is rarely if ever seen moving.

Learn more about the Southern Tree Agama in this video from Stories Of The Kruger on YouTube

Range

Where do you find the Southern Tree Agama?

As their name suggests this species is found in southern Africa.. Their are confirmed reports of the species from Botswana; Eswatini; Malawi; Mozambique; South Africa and Zimbabwe.

They may be present in The Democratic Republic of the Congo but this requires further research.

Some records of this species may be incorrect following the recent split of Acanthocercus atricollis in to three species.

Habitat

Where can the Southern Tree Agama survive?

This species is found in savanna, woodland and forest clearing habitats.

As their name suggests they are tree dwelling and spend much of their time around large trees. They show a preference for trees with a large trunk diameter and high levels of canopy cover.

Credit: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Reproduction

How does the Southern Tree Agama produce its young?

This species will breed during spring and summer.

Southern tree agamas lay clutches of between 4 and 15 eggs. Their eggs have a soft shell. The larger a female grows the larger a clutch of eggs she will produce. These are deposited in a hole dug in the soil.

Eggs hatch after a 3 month gestation period.

Behavior

What does the Southern Tree Agama do during its day?

These lizards are considered to be primarily arboreal and spend most of their life in the treetops. They will only come to the ground to seek out insects on which they can feed or to move between two trees.

This species is active during the day. At night this species will sheek shelter in a tree hollow or under a piece of bark.

Males perform displays to defend their territory during which they will bob their head up and down.

Credit: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Predators and Threats

What stops the Southern Tree Agama from surviving and thriving?

Populations of the southern tree agama are considered common with the species believed to be stable across most of its range.

This species has shown an ability to persist in areas of degraded habitat which provide higher prey densities. They also live in fruit trees where available allowing them to take advantage of artificial habitats.

In some areas they are heavily persecuted due to a belief that they are venomous. Some regions they inhabitat are subject to tree clearing to provide timber presenting another threat.

A small portion of the population in areas of their range associate this species with medicinal properties and they may be collected to supply this.

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Quick facts

This species was first described for modern science during 1849.

This species may also be known as the black-necked agama.

Two races of this species are widely accepted with another four having been proposed but not finding acceptance among scientists.

Credit: Ludovic Hirlimann, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons