Phrynocephalus versicolor

Phrynocephalus versicolor, the Tuvan toad-headed agama, is a species of agamid lizard found in desert areas of China and Mongolia.

The head is large and rounded and the blunt snout has an oblique profile which makes the nostrils easily visible from above.

The dorsal surface of the body is olive or leaden-grey with two to five transverse bars of brownish-black, the most intense colour being just behind the shoulders and there is often an orange patch in the armpit.

[4] Phrynocephalus versicolor occurs in Mongolia and in the provinces of Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, and Nei Mongol in China.

It is found on stony plains and slopes, in canyons and on sand dunes with sagebrush and other sparse scrubby vegetation.

In the rainy season she digs a hole in damp ground some 5 cm (2 in) deep in which she lays a clutch of up to five white or pink-tinged eggs.

Well-camouflaged and alert