Caucasian Agama
Paralaudakia caucasia
Georgia’s only agamid lizard — rock-dwelling, diurnal, and harmless to people.
Overview
What is Caucasian Agama
The Caucasian agama (Paralaudakia caucasia) is Georgia’s only agamid: a rock-dwelling, diurnal lizard, harmless to people. Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 list it as biologically confirmed. It occupies rocky ground in eastern and southern Georgia and occurs only locally in the west. Barcoded specimens are from Pia, Tmogvi, and Pantishara Gorge; the checklist figure is from Datviskhevi Gorge, Dedoplistskaro. The type locality historically includes Tbilisi and Baku. It does not occur throughout the country, and not in humid Colchic forest.
Last updated
Gallery
Caucasian Agama in photos
Photo: Геннадий
Dagestan, Russia
Photo: Kseniia Marianna Prondzynska
Gegharkunik, Armenia
Photo: Kseniia Marianna Prondzynska
Gegharkunik, Armenia
Identification
How to identify Caucasian Agama
A robust, flattened agamid with a triangular head and a tail of spiny scale rings. Do not confuse it with Darevskia rock lizards, the Caspian gecko, or Schneider’s skink.
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Head flattened and triangular; the ear opening is larger than the eye opening.
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Dorsal scales are mixed. They are enlarged along the spine and more spinose on the flanks.
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The tail is about twice the body length and covered in spiny rings.
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Back olive-grey, often with yellowish spots or a dark net; breeding males may darken on the belly.
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Darevskia are slimmer, with small even scales and no spiny tail rings. The Caspian gecko has a vertical pupil and widened toes and is mainly active after dusk.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
Rocky slopes and dry to semi-arid open landscapes; less often stony flats. Animals use crevices, spaces under stones, and burrows. Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026: eastern and southern Georgia, locally in the west. Localities tied to this atlas: Aspindza Municipality (Pia, Tmogvi — Samtskhe–Javakheti) and Dedoplistskaro (Datviskhevi, Pantishara — Kakheti). The Georgian National Encyclopedia also names the Iori Plateau, Kartli, Borjomi Municipality, and Meskheti; those points are not in the 2026 barcode list and are not drawn separately on the map. Western municipalities are not named in the checklist.
Diet
Mainly insects and other arthropods, including arachnids. The Georgian National Encyclopedia also mentions plant material. The 2026 checklist does not specify diet.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Caucasian Agama.
Yes. Paralaudakia caucasia is biologically confirmed in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026. It is Georgia’s only agamid.
On rocky, dry ground in the east and south. Barcodes are from Aspindza (Pia, Tmogvi) and Kakheti (Pantishara); the figure is from Datviskhevi, Dedoplistskaro. The checklist mentions only local occurrence in the west, without a named municipality.
It has no venom and is medically harmless to people. It may bite if grabbed. Do not handle it.
Adult snout–vent length is typically about 12–15 cm; the tail is about twice as long. Exact measurements of Georgian specimens are not given in the 2026 checklist.
Look for a robust, flattened lizard with a triangular head, mixed spiny scales, and a ringed spiny tail, basking on rock. Darevskia are slimmer; the gecko climbs after dusk on widened toes.
Darevskia are lacertids: slim, with small even scales. The agama is an agamid — more robust and flattened, with spiny tail rings.
Mainly insects and other small arthropods. Plant food is mentioned in some accounts; the diet of Georgian populations has not been measured separately.
By day, in warm weather, on rocks and stones. Exact months of activity in Georgia are not given in the 2026 checklist.
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Nikolskii 1913 — Georgian records cited in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026
- Muskhelishvili 1970 — Georgian records cited in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026
- Bannikov et al. 1977 — Georgian records cited in Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026
- Baig et al. 2012 — Morphology-based revision of Laudakia (Paralaudakia)
- The Reptile Database
- Aghasyan et al. 2017 — IUCN Red List account for Paralaudakia caucasia
- Georgian Government Resolution No. 190 of 2014 — Red List of Georgia
- Georgian National Encyclopedia — კავკასიური ჯოჯო (A. Bukhnikashvili)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
