Identification:
- Size: Medium-sized lizard, with a head and body length reaching up to 97 mm; tail very long, up to 198 mm, more than twice the length of the head and body.
- Scales: Small, irregular scales, slightly ridged, arranged in non-uniform rows. 44-50 scale rows around the body.
- Other features: Two small spines above the eardrum; nuchal and dorsal spines connected; a skin fold running from behind the jaw to near the forelimbs.
- Coloration: A bluish patch on the head and nape extending to the shoulders, fading behind the forelimbs; a yellow stripe running from below the eye, across the eardrum, to the posterior angle of the jaw; posterior body yellowish or pale brown.
Previously, this new lizard species was often misidentified as Calotes mystaceus, a species described by French scientists in 1837, based on specimens collected in Myanmar. Due to the widespread distribution of Calotes mystaceus across India, South China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, specimens similar to Calotes mystaceus received little attention from a taxonomic perspective. However, upon detailed comparisons of morphological and genetic data, scientists discovered that the lizard found in southern Vietnam differed from Calotes mystaceus and decided to describe it as a new species.
Biology and Ecology:
This ectothermic species is more arboreal than other Calotes species in the area, preying on large insects on the trunks of tall trees and on the ground. Females lay about 7 eggs after the heavy rains at the beginning of the season, burying the eggs in the soil. The incubation process depends entirely on the environmental temperature, with hatchlings emerging after approximately two months.
Distribution:
- Vietnam: Gia Lai (Sơklang), Đắk Lắk (Ea Kao, Krông Pắch, Nam Đà), Lâm Đồng (Di Linh), Khánh Hòa (Nha Trang), Ninh Thuận (Nha Hố), Bình Dương (Thủ Dầu Một), Đồng Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, and Kiên Giang (Hà Tiên).
- Global: Also found in Thailand and Cambodia.