Mwanza Flat-Headed Rock Agama

The Mwanza flat-headed rock agama is found in eastern Kenya and Tanzania, from the Masai Mara southwest through the Serengeti, and around the southern shore of Lake Victoria to eastern Rwanda and Burundi.  

This beautiful male Mwanza agama was found in Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

Different angles show the beautiful colors are all around.

Even from beneath, the pink and blue continues.

Mwanza is one of 30 administrative regions in Tanzania and covers an area where this lizard is located. The male’s head, neck and shoulders are pink, red or violet, the body is dark blue and it has a violet or blue/white line down its back. 

This is a different male on a tree, just about 30 yards or so from the one above.

The female is mostly brown and difficult to distinguish from female agamas of other species. 

A female agama in the Masai Mara. Not as flashy, but still a little bit of pink. There were six or eight females for every male we saw.

A younger female, quite a bit smaller than the one above.

We found these lizards all over the grounds of our Serena Mara Lodge in Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. I also saw a number of them on Naabi Hill, near the Naabi Hill Gate of Serengeti National Park. 

This male was found on Naabi Hill in Serengeti National Park. The pink is not as dominant and there is a rust color on the sides. The blue is also not as strong or vibrant. Still a very beautiful lizard.

They live in small colonies of about ten lizards with a dominant male. A September 21, 2009 article in the Telegraph, a British newspaper, notes that they have become popular pets and that they are the color of Spider Man! The Spider Man connection is also made on the website, Amusing Planet. Note that the colors in the above articles have heavily saturated the colors in the pictures. I was able to catch three females and hold them briefly, but was unable to catch one of the elusive males. Several of them had their mouths open, but none bit me. This is one of the most fun lizards I've ever seen. If we were still in lizards as pet mode, this one would be near the top of my list.