fieldherping.eu

This one was shot at a different location and has a much chunkier and shorter tail. Just wondering if it is something different or just re growing the tail

Stan


starred agama by Neptuno.Photography, on Flickr

Looks like it has just lost the end of the tail, perhaps from a predator encounter or agonistic encounter with conspecific. Some agama species can re-generate the tail after autotomy, others cannot; I'm not sure about L. stellio. Either way, it looks healthy enough.

thanks Daniel - I suspected that may be the case

Stan

Laudakia Stellio can regenerate its tail, but not as completely as, say, a gecko. It develops a club-like stub instead. This kind of tail clipping is probably from intra-species aggression (i.e. another Stellion has bitten off the edge of its tail).

thanks Omar - there were a few like that

Stan

You're welcome. Many Agamas have such tails - they have a tendency to bite each other's tails when fighting.