Habitat destruction, illegal trade threaten Sri Lanka’s endangered agamid lizards

COLOMBO — In Sri Lanka, agamid lizard species are growing increasingly vulnerable due to three main factors: shrinking habitats, climate change and being traded as exotic pets. The Indian Ocean island is home to more than 20 species of agamid lizards and shows exceptionally high endemism with more than two-thirds of them found nowhere else on Earth.
Sri Lanka’s wet zone forests and mountain ranges are their home, where they now face threats from extensive habitat loss. Add to this situation the increasing threat of being smuggled out of the island to be traded as exotic species, and the story of Sri Lankan agamids turn bleak.
In March 2025, a study highlighted that more than 40% of agamids’ most critical habitats remain unprotected in the island country.
The paper, published in Integrative Conservation, indicates that agamid hotspots are primarily concentrated in the island’s wet zone, especially Sinharaja Forest Reserve, the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary and the Dumbara (or Knuckles) Mountain Range. The research states that these unprotected areas are vital for species with tiny ranges, such as Cophotis lizards.

Agamid lizards in Sri Lanka are both threatened and evolutionarily distinct, with 19 of 22 species endemic to the island, says the study, which assessed the distribution of 14 threatened agamid lizard species using species distribution modeling (SDM). The generated distribution maps have been used to identify highly diverse target areas for agamid conservation, both within and outside protected areas.
These range-restricted species have become popular among reptile smugglers who often sell them at higher values on global exotic reptile trading platforms.
Suranjan Karunarathna, a herpetologist who had been involved in herpetological research since 2000 and a co-author of the study, said that, in most cases, smugglers often look for range-restricted or narrow-ranging species for their uniqueness, creating a fresh threat to such species.
“For the past decade, we have been educating local communities who live close to the forest areas and those involved in the tourism industry about reptile smuggling in these areas,” Karunarathna told Mongabay. “We have told them to be wary of foreigners walking in forests, especially at night, and especially when unaccompanied by a local guide,” he said.
He said that foreign traffickers are always trying to profit from the trading of rare and endemic species. “We can regularly see these advertisements [online],” he added.

Search for endemic exotic pets
A Sept. 24, 2025, advertisement published on MorphMarket, the world’s largest online marketplace for reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates reads as follows:
“Young virgin adult female Cophotis dumbara RTB. Never been with a male. Very personable and active. Great feeder feeding on crickets, bean beetles, wax worms, small mealworms and soldier fly larvae.”
On offer was a captive bred, young adult female, Dumbara agama (or Knuckles pygmy lizard, Cophotis Dumbara) priced at $650. It also gave information on the lizard’s diet. The website has a large selection of captive-bred reptiles for sale from breeders and is popular among collectors of exotic pets. An advanced search of Cophotis lizards has indicated seven advertisements on this website since August 2025.
According to a 2025 advertisement on Fauna Classifieds, a wildlife trading website, an adult pair of Dumbara agamas was sold at $3,000 back in 2021. The prices also vary depending on the destination where Cophotis lizards are being smuggled. From 2015-25, 29 advertisements on this website indicated the growing demand for individual Cophotis lizards and pairs which are sold at prices as high as $2,100.
These advertisements on global reptile trading websites are only the tip of the iceberg. Social media platforms such as Instagram have become havens for the illicit trade of such endemic and critically endangered species.
Cophotis lizards are protected by the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance of Sri Lanka, the country’s apex legislation that protects its flora and fauna. According to amended FFPO of 1993, the law prohibits collection from the wild, hunting and export of any reptile or its parts without specific permits, which are generally granted for scientific purposes or exchanges between zoos.
According to TRAFFIC, the leading international NGO working globally on trade in wild animals and plants, many species of lizards, turtles and tortoises are highly priced as exotic pets the world over. It states that while many reptile species such as Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko) — a species of aggressive, nocturnal and arboreal geckos — are bred in captivity in Southeast Asia for sale in the global pet trade, captive breeding could also be a mechanism to launder wild-caught specimens.

Shrinking habitats and climate change
Many Cophotis lizards advertised on these websites are also labeled ‘juvenile’ species. Speaking to Mongabay on collecting juvenile animals for the illegal wildlife trade, Sri Lanka’s pioneering herpetologist Anslem De Silva said that collecting such animals may be a trick to tell that the animals are captive bred. “This is because some countries can only import captive-bred animals,” he added. This has been identified in the case of wild caught Galapagos iguanas, which are laundered into international trade as captive-bred.
“Cophotis lizards are considered as loveable pets and are easy to tame. Apart from their nature, they breed well, thus the high demand in the pet trade,” he told Mongabay.
According to the 2024 Wildlife Crime Report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), rarity is at a premium for orchids, succulents and reptiles, including lizards and amphibians. The report indicates that lizards constitute 2% of species recorded in seizures and the source of demand includes specialized markets for live animals. According to the report, Sri Lanka is among 162 countries involved in wildlife seizures between 2015-21.

Among the species fetching high prices and popular are Dumbara agamas and C. ceylanica, two species that are popularly listed on trading platforms at exorbitant prices. “Keeping these two species which are found only in two niche locations in Sri Lanka is perhaps a status symbol for collectors,” said Jagath Gunawardana, senior environmental lawyer, conservationist and educator.

“There are 22 species of agamid lizards in Sri Lanka and all of them are protected under Section 30 of the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance (FFPO). Out of these 22, there are six species of Ceratophora lizards which are strictly protected and two species of Cophotis, also strictly protected whereas the rest are protected. Out of the 22 species, 19 are found only in Sri Lanka,” he told Mongabay.
It was back in 2006 that a team of researchers established that the Dumbara agama was, in fact, a new species of the genus Cophotis found exclusively in the Dumbara Mountain Range. Within one year of its discovery, the lizard was classified in the National Red List as critically endangered.

Struggle for species protection
Explaining the background to the illegal trade of Cophotis lizards, Samantha Gunasekara, former deputy director of Sri Lanka Customs, recalled illegal trade of these lizards spanning over two decades. “After much struggle, conservation authorities and conservationists were able to have many of these species included in the CITES.
“Earlier, a few of our endemic lizards were included in the CITES reports in 2016 and then again in 2019 and 2022. Some of these agamids in certain locations of the country are point endemic. Due to international trade, they are further threatened,” he added.
In January 2021, a Russian citizen was caught at Sao Paulo airport with 294 reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. According to the 4th Edition of Stolen Wildlife, a report on facts about illegal wildlife trade, this individual had been routinely selling a broad range of rare species from across the globe since 2013. Amongst these species had been a black-cheeked lizard (Calotes nigrilabris) from Sri Lanka.
In 2022, a Sri Lankan court imposed heavy fines on three Russians, who were fined for Rs. 8.5 million ($28,086) for attempting to smuggle endemic plants and more than 500 endangered species collected from Sri Lanka’s national parks in 2020. The species included more than 230 live specimens including lizards, which were subsequently released to the wild.
Karunarathna further noted the high demand for range-restricted or narrow-ranged lizards from European buyers. “But since these are not fast-breeding or not continuous-breeding lizards, they can become extinct in the wild,” he added.

Banner Image:  Living amidst uncertainty –The Dumbara agama (Cophotis dumbara) is a lizard known only from the Knuckles Mountain Range in Sri Lanka’s central hills. Image courtesy of Suranjan Karunarathna.

Citations:
Wijerathne, I., Karunarathna, S., Sursinghe, T., Vidanapathirana, D. R., Ukuwela, K., Wickramasinghe, S., Sarathchandra, C., Gunatilake, J., Jiang, A., Goodale, E., & Fernando, S. (2025). Identification of Priority Areas for Conservation of Threatened Agamid Lizards of Sri Lanka Using Species Distribution Modeling. Integrative Conservation, 4(2), 188-204. doi:10.1002/inc3.70019

V. A. M. P. K. Samarawickrama, & Kithsiri Ranawana. (2006). ANEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS Cophotis (SQUAMATA: AGAMIDAE) FROM SRI LANKA. Russian Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 13(3), pp. 207-214. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257920819_ANEW_SPECIES_OF_THE_GENUS_Cophotis_SQUAMATA_AGAMIDAE_FROM_SRI_LANKA

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