Tuvan Toad-headed Agama

Phrynocephalus versicolor grows to a length of about 13 cm (5 in) including the tail, which is longer than the combined head and body. The head is large and rounded and the blunt snout has an oblique profile which makes the nostrils easily visible from above. There is no transverse fold of skin across the shoulders. There are large scales which are smooth and unribbed along the spine. Other dorsal scales are thickened with their rear margin slightly raised, which gives the lizard a rough appearance. Scales on the ventral surface are extended into short spines. The tail is long and tapering, flattened at the base and cylindrical further from the body. It is thickened at the base in the male. The colour is variable. 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. The legs are also banded with darker colour and the underparts are white. The tail has up to nine dark bars, some of them extending to the underside, and the tip is black underneath.

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. Much of its habitat is more than 3,200 m (10,500 ft) above sea level and the temperature can vary from −30 °C (−22 °F) in the winter to 40 °C (104 °F) in the summer. There is very little precipitation, and the small amount of rainfall is concentrated in mid-summer.