NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common Agama
Agama agama (Linnaeus, 1758)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common agama or red-headed rock agama (Agama agama) is a species of lizard from the family Agamidae found in most of sub-Saharan Africa and in Florida where it has spread. To clear up centuries of historical confusion based on Linnaeus and other authors, Wagner et al. designated a neotype (numbered ZFMK 15222) for the species, using a previously described specimen from Cameroon in the collection of the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig in Bonn. The species name was formerly applied to a paraphyletic collection of taxa (a so-called wastebasket); subsequent mitochondrial DNA analysis of various populations indicates they represent separate species. Consequently, three former subspecies A. a. africana, A. a. boensis, and A. a. mucosoensis are now considered separate species, and A. a. savattieri is considered synonymous with A. africana.
Wikipedia contributors, Agama agama; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:55:58.179444+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Agama agama (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Common 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 agama (Linnaeus, 1758)
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 |
| Southern African Rock AgamaAgama atra Daudin, 1802 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lacerta agama Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Agama colonorum var. congica Peters, 1877 Peters, 1877 | ambiguous synonym |
| Agama bocourti Rochebrune, 1884 Rochebrune, 1884 | synonym |
| Agama smithii Boulenger, 1896 Boulenger, 1896 | synonym |
| Lacerta amphibia Linnaeus Linnaeus | synonym |
| Agama colonorum Daudin, 1802 Daudin, 1802 | synonym |
| Agama wagneri Trape et al. ex Mediannikov et al., 2012 Trape et al. ex Mediannikov et al., 2012 | synonym |
| Agama occipitalis Gray, 1827 Gray, 1827 | 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=agama 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:65K27. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.