Skip to content

Blanford’s Rock Agama Was Seen Eating a Skink in Odisha

Blanford's rock agama (Psammophilus blanfordanus) on rock
Research · Ecology

A male Blanford’s rock agama (Psammophilus blanfordanus) was seen eating the skink Riopa punctata in Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha, India. The observation, published online on 6 August 2026, adds another direct record of vertebrate prey to the diet of a lizard that is thought to feed mainly on insects.

Observers encountered the agama during a routine patrol near Lilingpadar on 26 February 2025. It was sitting on a rock beside a forest trail with the skink’s head in its jaws. Photographs were later used to identify the prey as R. punctata; its tail had already been severed.

Both species are reported as common in the area, although they use the landscape differently. Blanford’s rock agama occurs across several habitat types around Karlapat, while R. punctata is more closely associated with forest patches.

Earlier accounts describe insects as the main food of Psammophilus agamas, but vertebrate prey is not unprecedented. Skinks have previously been reported in the diet of Blanford’s rock agama, and another species in the genus has been observed taking a gecko. The Karlapat record therefore adds a well-documented field observation of a relatively large vertebrate prey item rather than representing the first known case of vertebrate predation in the species.

Sources and image credit

  1. Mishra, A., Harpal, B., & Mohanta, S. (2025). Predation on Riopa punctata (Squamata: Scincidae) by a rock agama Psammophilus blanfordanus (Squamata: Agamidae) in Kalahandi, Odisha, India. Hamadryad, 42(1–2).Primary peer-reviewed short note. The journal page records publication on 6 August 2026 although the paper is assigned to the combined 2025 volume. The observation was made on 26 February 2025 near Lilingpadar in Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha, where a male Psammophilus blanfordanus was photographed feeding on Riopa punctata.

Image: Ansil B. R. — Blanford’s rock agama (Psammophilus blanfordanus) photographed in India on 30 July 2021; originally published on iNaturalist and available via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Representative species image; not the individual observed eating a skink in Karlapat. · CC BY 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Blanford’s Rock Agama Psammophilus blanfordanus Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.