top of page

Hypsilurus :

For the external links , refrences  click here to read the full wikipedia article 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Hypsilurus is a genus of arboreal agamid lizards from Melanesia and eastern Australia.[2]

Species :

 

As of 2013, Hypsilurus contains the following 20 species:[3]

 

  • Hypsilurus auritus (Meyer, 1874)

  • Hypsilurus binotatus (Meyer, 1874) – two-marked forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus boydii (Macleay, 1884) – Boyd's forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus bruijnii (W. Peters & Doria, 1878) – Bruijni forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus capreolatus Kraus & S. Myers, 2012

  • Hypsilurus dilophus (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1837) – Indonesian forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus geelvinkianus (W. Peters & Doria, 1878) – New Guinea forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus godeffroyi (W. Peters, 1867) – northern forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus hikidanus Manthey & Denzer, 2006 – Hikida's forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus longi (Macleay, 1877) – Long's forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus macrolepis W. Peters, 1872

  • Hypsilurus magnus Manthey & Denzer, 2006

  • Hypsilurus modestus (Meyer, 1874) – modest forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus nigrigularis (Meyer, 1874)

  • Hypsilurus ornatus Manthey & Denzer, 2006 – Denzer's forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus papuensis (Macleay, 1877) – Papua forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus schoedei (T. Vogt, 1932) – Vogt's forest dragon

  • Hypsilurus schultzewestrumi (Urban, 1999)

  • Hypsilurus spinipes (A.M.C. Duméril & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851) – southern forest dragon, southern angle-headed dragon

  • Hypsilurus tenuicephalus Mathey & Denzer, 2006

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Hypsilurus.

Hypsilurus

Hypsilurus boydii

Scientific classification

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Reptilia

Order:Squamata

Suborder:Iguania

Family:Agamidae

Subfamily:Amphibolurinae

Genus:Hypsilurus
W. Peters, 1867[1]

For the external links , refrences  click here to read the full wikipedia article 

Video :

Boyd's Forest Dragon Set-Up and Care Video - *~*Hypsilurus boydii*~*

Species : 

 

 

1-  Boyd's forest dragon - Lophosaurus boydii

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Boyd's forest dragon (Lophosaurus boydii, formerly Hypsilurus boydii) is a species of arboreal agamid lizard found in rainforests and their margins in the Wet Tropics region of northern Queensland, Australia.[2] It is the larger of the two species of Lophosaurus found in Australia. The other species, the southern angle-headed dragon, L. spinipes, is found in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Boyd's forest dragon

Boyd's forest dragon in the Daintree National Park

Scientific classification :

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Reptilia

Order:Squamata

Suborder:Iguania

Family:Agamidae

Genus:Lophosaurus

Species:L. boydii

Binomial name :

Lophosaurus boydii
(Macleay, 1884)

Synonyms :

  • Tiaris boydii Macleay, 1884

  • Gonyocephalus boydii— Boulenger, 1885

  • Hypsilurus boydii — Cogger, 1983[1]

Etymology :

 

The generic name Lophosaurus stands for "crested lizard", from the Greek lophos for ‘crest’, and saurus for 'lizard'.[3] The specific name, boydii, is a reference to English-born John Archibald Boyd (1846–1926), who lived in Fiji from 1865 to 1882 and then on a sugar plantation at Ingham, Queensland, and collected specimens for the Australian Museum. The binomial authority is William John Macleay, who provided the original description of the species in 1884.[4][5]

 

Geographic range and habitat :

 

The species is restricted to rainforests and their margins in northern Queensland, Australia, from just north of Townsville to near Cooktown.[6] It is found in both upland and lowland rainforest, and is often seen around Lake Eacham (Yidyam) and Lake Barrine, and in parts of Malanda Falls Conservation Park and at Mossman Gorge.

It is recorded using tree-hollows.[7]

Description :

 

Boyd's forest dragons are generally brown or grey above, with some individuals having a green flush. The body is laterally compressed. They have very enlarged cheek scales, a prominent nuchal crest, and a yellow dewlap under the chin that is edged with enlarged spines. The tympanum is large and superficial. A dorsal crest, discontinuous with the nuchal crest, consisting of enlarged, hardened and pointed scales, runs down to the base of the tail.

 

Adults are sexually dimorphic, with males larger than females and having larger, blockier heads. Adult males grow to an average body length (snout-vent length) of about 160 mm (6.3 in), with the tail adding another 325 mm (12.8 in); average body length for adult females is about 140 mm (5.5 in) and tail length is about 280 mm (11 in). Average body mass for adult males is about 150 g (5.3 oz), and for females is about 100 g (3.5 oz).

 

Behavior  :

 

Boyd's forest dragons spend the majority of their time perched on the trunks of trees, usually at around head height, although daily movements can exceed 100 m (330 ft) on the ground. When approached, they will usually move around to the opposite side of the tree, keeping the trunk between them and their harasser.[8]

 

Unlike most other lizards, Boyd's forest dragons don't bask in the sun, instead letting their body temperature fluctuate with air temperature (thermoconforming rather than thermoregulating). The one possible exception to this general rule is gravid (pregnant) females, which are often observed sitting on or beside forest roads and exhibit elevated body temperatures.

 

Boyd's forest dragons typically commence activity at dawn and cease activity at dusk, remaining active even when it rains. Activity is highly seasonal, all but ceasing during the cooler months, when lizards typically move into the rainforest canopy.

 

Both males and females appear to be territorial, with males defending an area of around 1,000 square metres (0.247 acre). Female territories are smaller, with male territories often containing the territories of more than one female.

 

Hatchlings, juveniles and smaller adults can often be found 'sleeping' at night at the ends of tree branches with their head pointing back towards the trunk.

Diet :

 

Boyd's forest dragons are sit-and-wait predators, catching prey that they spy from their perches, although once on the ground, they will frequently move over a wider area, catching prey as they go. Their diet consists primarily of invertebrates, with earthworms making up a relatively high proportion. Small fruits and vertebrates are also occasionally consumed.[9]

 

Reproduction  :

 

Reproduction is via eggs, with clutch sizes varying from one to six eggs. Eggs are about 30 mm (1.2 in) long and 15 mm (0.59 in) wide, and weigh about 3–4.5 g (0.11–0.16 oz). Egg size and weight are both higher in upland populations. Females in lowland populations may lay more than one clutch in a season, but clutch sizes are typically smaller than those laid by upland females. The eggs are laid in shallow nests, often in rainforest clearings — both natural and man-made (the verges of roads are particularly popular). The eggs take about 100 days to incubate.

 

Sexual maturity is achieved in around one to two years in lowland populations but probably takes at least a year longer in upland populations.

 

Predators :

 

Known predators of juvenile and adult forest dragons include grey goshawks and feral pigs. Feral pigs and slaty-grey snakes (Stegonotus cucullatus) have also been known to eat forest dragon eggs.[10]

 

Parasites :

 

Small orange mites are commonly found on the dewlap and in the groin areas of the legs.

 

 

Videos :

Boyd's Forest Dragon Set-Up and Care Video - *~*Hypsilurus boydii*~*

Unboxing New Additions! Boyd's Forest Dragons!!

Boyd's Forest Dragon

FEEDING BOYD'S FOREST DRAGONS

Boyd's Forest Dragons Shedding

Boyd's Forest Dragon

Adult Female Boyd's Forest Dragon eating a pinkie rat

Boyd's Forest Dragon being sneaky (short video)

Building A GIANT Rainforest Reptile Enclosure!

Boyd's Forest Dragon - More eggs!

Boyd forest Dragon Bruno

Boyd's Forest Dragon eats a cricket

boyds forest dragons Setup

Boyds Forest Dragons - Babies - New Additions !

Boyds Forest Dragon, Symbio Wildlife Park, Helensburgh, Australia

Boyd’s Forest Dragon Care Sheet :

 

courtesy to : www.australianbeardies.net/forum/showthread.php?464-Boyd%92s-Forest-Dragon-Care-Sheet

 

Gonocephalus boydi
Boyd’s Forest Dragon

 

General Care-
As with the other forms of bearded dragons Boyd’s require UVA/B lighting to be happy and grow normally without any bone deficiencies. Generally feeding a nice variety of insect’s morning and afternoon will keep them happy for a very long time; I will talk about other food types and supplements a little later on. Boyd’s can usually live for about 10-15yrs (there’s always the odd exception to this rule as with all animals.).

 

Enclosure Requirements- 
Boyd’s dragons are more difficult to look after then Bearded Dragons and can grow between around 35cm-45cm with somewhere around 40cm being the norm.
As full grown adults you can easily keep a pair in a 4ftx3ftx2ft (LxHxD) enclosure.
Unlike other dragons Boyd’s do not require a basking spot however artificial UVA/B lighting is needed this can be achieved by using MVB light or UVB fluro ect.
The temperatures you will want to achieve are 25-30c ambient temperature. 
Due to high humidity requirements (80-90%) it is pretty much a must to have a water feature like a waterfall or even a sprinkler system in the enclosure.

 

Substrate-
Best and most common substrate used is Coco Pete or Sphagnum Moss as these will both help hold in the moisture and generally looks nice while keeping the humidity up.

 

Lighting-
Most people will tend to use Bulbs that emit heat AND UVB/A rays like a Mercery Vapour Bulb (MVB), while others will prefer to use a UVB 5.0 fluro to do the job since MVB’s can produce a lot of heat.
Generally you will want to have the lighting/heating on a 10-12hr a day system I would opt for is 9-10yrs during the winter and 10-12hrs a day during summer.
Once again if your enclosure gets below 18/19c you will want to look into some kind of heating as temperatures this low will cause respiration problems aver prolonged exposure

 

Brumation-
Brumation (sleeping) is usually done during the winter months drop your temperatures down by a few degree’s to simulate winter, generally your dragon won’t do much but sleep and eat/drink whatever it needs to stay alive this is also an integral part of preparing bearded dragons for breeding.

 

Food-
Feeding your little buddies is extremely easy and feeding them various insects several times a day is quite beneficial for them as it is where they get most of their water from as well as general supplements it is good to add multical vitamins to their food every 2-3 days to help keep their vitamins up.
Insects like crickets and woodies can be purchased from most pet shops these days and will come with a small packet called gutload add this packet and even some multical vitamins to their container give it a shake before feeding them to your dragons, A general rule of thumb is to feed them as many as they will eat and remove the excess however leaving a few woodies in there for them to snack on at will shouldn’t hurt.
Sizing the food for your dragon is pretty easy as long as the item is smaller than the distance between the eyes of your dragon it is good to go.
Various other insects can be fed to them such as silkworms, mealworms, flies, common house cockroaches, Earthworms (easy to culture yourself) ect.

 

Sexing-
Sexing dragons of all types can be quite difficult to do until they mature (12months however some experienced breeders can sex them before this).
Males tend to be larger than females and have a larger bulkier head 

 

Breeding-
Breeding with these little guys will usually start to occur shortly after brumation.
Once brumation is finished and they start to become more active bump your temperatures back up to the ideal specs and start feeding your pair up.
The courting ritual will usually take a few weeks of the male constantly chaseing the female around and displaying his bright yellow dewlap, occasionally you may even see the male biting the female on the back of the neck.
It is also good to feed your full grown female a pinkie mouse once in a while during breeding season to help her build up her reserves.

 

Egg laying-
Once pregnant it usually takes about 3weeks for the female to start filling up with eggs and looking for a place to lay you may notice her running franticly running around the enclosure scratching at the ground eventually she will find a spot she is happy with and start to dig a small ditch and start laying in it.
Once all is said and done eggs are laid it is time to move them on to the incubator the container for the incubator is usually a Chinese takeaway container half filled with vermiculite dampened with water (grab a handful and squeeze if water drips out u have added to much put more vermiculite in there a mixture of 1-1 is normal) remove the eggs form the enclosure and add them to the incubator box be very careful not to damage the eggs they need to be half submerged and facing the same way they were collected.
One mating session can produce a clutch size between 1-5 eggs.

 

Incubation-
If you intend to breed these beautiful creatures with any real success you will need to get your hands on an incubator.
There are a lot of different types that you can use however the cheapest and easiest way is to get an old bar fridge and make your own out of that using a 50wt heat cord, heat controller, thermometer/hydrometer and 2 computer fans. There are plenty of DIY setups online both for purchase and instructions.
For successful incubation of the eggs you are going to want to keep the temperature between 24 & 27c without any problems, at 26c the eggs should hatch in approximately 70 days. Time mark your calendar for when the clutch is due so you will remember when the little guys will start emerging.

 

Babies-
Caring for your hatchlings is a little more difficult than their parents but just as simular it is easier to use tubs bought from a cheapo shop place a small damp layer of coco pete and a bowl of water in the container and run a UVB fluro above multiple containers at once and using flyscreen / fine mesh for the lid as the UVB rays don’t travel through glass or plastic very well. You should be able to keep a few in each tub once you see fighting occurring split them up further into smaller groups.
Feeding the little guys some pinhead crickets and very small woodies gutloading these is a good idea another option is chopped up earthworms.
Boyd’s are best kept until they are about 4-6wks old before selling onto other people. 

Agamidae :  Introduction 

Agamidae Species : Africa  -  Asia  -  Australia & Papua new guinea

-   Species and subfamilies list :   (  Papua New Guinea  ) 

 

- Genus :   Hypsilurus         Part 1   Part 2

-   Species and subfamilies list :   (  Papua New Guinea  ) 

 

- Genus :   Hypsilurus         Part 1   Part 2

bottom of page