NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Southern African Rock Agama
Agama atra Daudin, 1802
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
agama atra
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Open encyclopedia reference
The southern rock agama or southern African rock agama (Agama atra) is a species of lizard from the family Agamidae that occurs in Southern Africa in Zambia, South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. It lives in small colonies on rocky outcrops, and the males are very conspicuous for their bright blue heads.
Wikipedia contributors, Agama atra; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:46:20.150475+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Agama atra Daudin, 1802
- Name authority
- Daudin, 1802
- Common name
- Southern African Rock Agama
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Agamidae
- Genus
- Agama
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderIguania
- familyAgamidae
- subfamilyAgaminae
- genusAgama
- speciesAgama atra Daudin, 1802
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Agama. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Ground AgamaAgama armata Peters, 1854 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Boulenger's AgamaAgama boulengeri Lataste, 1886 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| West African AgamaAgama africana (Hallowell, 1844) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benoue AgamaAgama doriae Boulenger, 1885 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benin AgamaAgama gracilimembris Chabanaud, 1918 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etosha AgamaAgama etoshae Mclachlan, 1981 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Finch’s agamaAgama finchi Böhme, Wagner, Malonza, Lötters & Köhler, 2005 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Common Spiny AgamaAgama hispida (Kaup, 1827) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Elmenteita Rock AgamaAgama caudospinosa Meek, 1910 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lucy’s AgamaAgama lucyae Wagner & Bauer, 2011 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mwanza flat-headed agamaAgama mwanzae Loveridge, 1923 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Montane rock agamaAgama montana Barbour & Loveridge, 1928 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Agama micropholis Matschie, 1891 Matschie, 1891 | synonym |
| Agama microterolepis Boulenger, 1896 Boulenger, 1896 | synonym |
| Agama atra var. rudis Boulenger & Power, 1921 Boulenger & Power, 1921 | synonym |
| Agama holubi Bocage, 1896 Bocage, 1896 | synonym |
| Saura spinalis | ambiguous synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Agama&species=atra Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:65JPJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.