The Leaf-nosed Lizard or Tennent's Leaf-nosed Lizard (Ceratophora tennentii) is a species of lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...

 in the Agamidae

Agamidae

Agamids, lizards of the family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Phylogenetically they may be sister to the Iguanidae, and have a similar appearance. Agamids usually have...

 family.
It is endemic to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

.

Description

The arboreal leaf-nosed lizard, also known as the "horn-nosed lizard" or "Horned lizard", has a leaf-like appendage on the end of its nose, the species can reach lengths of over 8 inches including the tail. The Latin word for which it was named, Ceratophora, means horn bearer. The males usually have more green in their coloration than females seem to have, although they can change color to a reddish brown. The females usually have shorter appendages on their nose. These lizards are not very agile and rely more on their coloration to avoid predators rather than speed. The lizard is diurnal and therefore is usually only active in the day. Very little is actually known about this unusual lizard.

Habitat

Found in the wet tropical montane cloud forests of the Knuckles mountains in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, although they have been recorded in several other forest habitats.

Threats

deforestation

Deforestation

Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....

, pesticides, climate change

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...

, forest fire and bioaccumulation

Bioaccumulation

Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of substances, such as pesticides, or other organic chemicals in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate greater than that at which the substance is lost...

. Much of the leaf-nosed lizards habitat has been cleared for illegal logging

Illegal logging

Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the...

, agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, and the cardamom

Cardamom

Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...

, coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

, tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

, and rubber

Rubber

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...

 plantations over the past two centuries.

Captivity

As of now the leaf-nosed lizard is protected because of its endangered status, making its trade is illegal.

Conservation Efforts

In 2000, areas above 1,067 m above sea level were protected and labeled as conservation forest. The cardamom cultivation had to be abandoned in this range of area. However, rather than allowing the natural regeneration, the cardamom was taken over by invasive weeds such as mistflower (Eupatorium riparium) and Lantana (Lantana camara

Lantana camara

Lantana camara, also known as Spanish Flag or West Indian Lantana, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to the American tropics. It has been introduced into other parts of the world as an ornamental plant and is considered an invasive species in many...

). it was placed on the endangered list by the IUCN in 2006.

Source

• World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Ceratophora tennentii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 July 2007.

Reptiles Magazine

http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/reptiles/Ceratophora_tennentii/