Not counting the essentially impossible-to-find Bornean Earless Monitor, this was the lizard I most wanted to see in Malaysia. Not because they are rare, for they are not, but because they are so completely crazy-looking. I mean, what's with the crazy headgear? And who would paint a lizard these nutty colors?

Only the adult males have the full outrageous appearance. Juveniles, as in this last photo, are much more drab and lack the crests. But even in the youngsters you can see a hint of the clownish belly pattern.

My Travelogues and Trip Lists page includes a complete list of the herps I saw in the wild on this trip to Malaysia, as well as a travelogue of the trip.

By day these lizards are active and often wary. But by night they sleep in the forest, and allow you to get as close as you want for photos.

Here's another little one, from Borneo this time. It's a good thing Kurt "Orion" G, my guide in Peninsular Malaysia, had already shown me what the young ones look like because I would have otherwise had a lot of trouble identifying this li'l guy.

Before they are great or even grand, Gonocephalus grandis are quite small and cute. This is the smallest one I have yet seen.