Sri Lankan Kngaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

I hadn't photographed a Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard until our recent trip to Sinharaja. Surprisingly, they were relatively easy to approach and photograph and there were a number of them in the leaf litter along the walking tracks in the park.

More photographs inside.

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard is an endemic, ground dwelling agamid Lizard that is found in the wet zone of the island (up to an elevation of 1300m). Its diet consists of insects, tender shoots and larvae. It is said to lay 4-5 eggs which take around 60-70 days to hatch. When startled, the Lizard may rise up and run its hind legs.

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Photographing the lizard wasn't hard. I found a number of specimens in the leaf litter or perched on the rocks by the side of the road. Although they were alert, they didn't run away as I approached them. The quality of light in the area wasn't good as it was filtered through a thick canopy overhead. Shutter speeds for these photographs were around the 1/40th mark.

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

All photographs on this post were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. A tripod was not used.

Oriental Garden Lizard

An Oriental Garden Lizard

The Oriental Garden Lizard is widely distributed throughout Asia and has also been introduced to many other parts of the world. It is an insectivore which is often incorrectly referred to as the bloodsucker due to it's red throat. More images and info after the jump.

An Oriental Garden Lizard

The coloration of these lizards vary from an uniform brownish or greenish olive or yellowish. The ground colour of the lizard is generally a light brownish olive but the lizard can change it to bright red or black or even a mixture of the two. This change is sometimes confined to the head but can also be distributed throughout the body and tail. Black streaks radiate from the eye and some of them are continued over the throat, running obliquely backwards. These bright changeable colours are peculiar to the male during breeding season. 

It is very common in Sri Lanka and the specimens found on the island seem to be relatively large. A specimen measuring 16 inches has been recorded in Sri Lanka. 

An Oriental Garden Lizard

Males are highly territorial during the mating season. They are known to discourage intruding males by brightening their red heads. The males try to attract females by inflating their throats and drawing attention to its coloured head. About 10 - 20 eggs are laid and buried in moist soil. The eggs are long, covered with leathery skin and are known to hatch in about 6 - 7 weeks. 

The lizard is known to feed on insects, and small vertebrates, including rodents and other lizards. The lizards teeth are designed to grip prey and not to tear it up. Prey is swallowed whole after it has been captured and stunned by shaking it vigorously. 

 

A male Oriental Garden Lizard

These images were shot in Kandy, with the Canon 7D and the 100 - 400mm lens.