Sunday 5 June 2016

In Bhutan: a dead lizard and a live monkey

The only reptile or amphibian we saw in Bhutan in March this year was a dead one. This lizard, which looks like the agamid, Calotes versicolor, was found in the road south of Trongsa at an altitude of 2,204 metres (7.230 feet) while we were looking at Golden Langurs (Trachypithecus geei).

This lizard was killed by a vehicle

Golden Langur

The climate of Bhutan changes from sub-tropical at the border with India to the snow-capped Himalayan peaks in the north. The herpetofauna changes accordingly although I have been surprised to read that only in the last couple of decades have efforts been made to describe and catalogue what species have been found*.

*Wangyal JT. 2014. The status of herpetofauna of Bhutan. Journal of the Bhutan Ecological Society. 2014 Issue 1, 20-39.

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