Vivariums;reptiles;Draco volans

Gliding Lizards ( DRACO ) Species :

Draco volans

Species :

The following 42 species are recognized:

Draco abbreviatus Hardwicke & Gray, 1827
Draco affinis Bartlett, 1895
Draco beccarii W. Peters & Doria, 1878[4]
Draco biaro Lazell, 1987
Draco bimaculatus Günther, 1864
Draco blanfordii Boulenger, 1885
Draco boschmai Hennig, 1936
Draco bourouniensis Lesson, 1834
Draco caerulhians Lazell, 1992
Draco cornutus Günther, 1864
Draco cristatellus Günther, 1872
Draco cyanopterus W. Peters, 1867
Draco dussumieri A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1837
Draco fimbriatus Kuhl, 1820
Draco formosus Boulenger, 1900
Draco guentheri Boulenger, 1885
Draco haematopogon Gray, 1831
Draco indochinensis M.A. Smith, 1928
Draco iskandari McGuire et al., 2007
Draco jareckii Lazell, 1992
Draco lineatus Daudin, 1802
Draco maculatus (Gray, 1845)
Draco maximus Boulenger, 1893
Draco melanopogon Boulenger, 1887
Draco mindanensis Stejneger, 1908
Draco modiglianii Vinciguerra, 1892
Draco norvillii Alcock, 1895
Draco obscurus Boulenger, 1887
Draco ornatus (Gray, 1845)
Draco palawanensis McGuire & Alcala, 2000
Draco quadrasi Boettger, 1893
Draco quinquefasciatus Hardwicke & Gray, 1827
Draco reticulatus Günther, 1864
Draco rhytisma Musters, 1983
Draco spilonotus Günther, 1872
Draco spilopterus Wiegmann, 1834
Draco sumatranus Schlegel, 1844
Draco supriatnai McGuire et al., 2007
Draco taeniopterus Günther, 1861
Draco timoriensis Kuhl, 1820
Draco volans Linnaeus, 1758
Draco walkeri Boulenger, 1891

The Popular species :

1- Draco volans

Draco volans, the common flying dragon, is a species of lizard endemic to Southeast Asia.[1] Like other members of genus Draco, this species is known for its ability to glide using winglike lateral extensions of skin called patagia.[2]

Avatar Female Dragon Draco Volans Close Up

Description :

This lizard grows up to 22 centimeters in length, including the tail. The body is tan in color with dark flecks. The patagium of the male is tan to bright orange with dark banding. The female's patagium has irregular markings rather than banding.[3]

Scientific classification:

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Reptilia

Order:Squamata

Suborder:Iguania

Family:Agamidae

Genus:Draco

Species:D. volans

Binomial name:

Draco volans
Linnaeus, 1758

Habitat :

The common flying dragon lives in open secondary forest and on forest edges.[3]

Biology :

This species feeds mainly on ants, and possibly other insects.[3]

The female common flying dragon digs a hole in the soil to serve as a nest, and lays eggs in it.[2]

Range :

This species can be found in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore.[1]

References :

Common Gliding Lizard

courtesy to : www.ecologyasia.com/verts/lizards/common_gliding_lizard.htm

Family : Agamidae
Species : Draco volans
Size (snout to vent) : 9 cm
Size (total length) : 22 cm

The Common Gliding Lizard Draco volans is a sun-loving species which inhabits forest-edge habitats and dry, open, secondary forest.

It was once considered to range throughout Southeast Asia, but the name now only refers to populations from Java and Bali. The closely-related Sumatran Gliding Lizard Draco sumatranus and Boschma's Gliding Lizard Draco boschmai, which occur in other parts of Southeast Asia and were once considered to be subspecies of Draco volans, are now considered as separate species in their own right (McGuire et al, 2001).

Males and females are both tan in colour, with sparse dark flecks on the back of the body and a dark spot on the nape. In males the upper surface of the gliding membrane, or patagium, is tan to orange and bears dark, radial bands. In females the patagium lacks these bands, but instead bears irregular dark markings.

In common with the Sumatran Gliding Lizard, males have a pointed yellow gular flag, whilst females have a small, mottled, bluish gular flag.

This common lizard feeds mainly on ants, and possibly termites.

This species is endemic to Indonesia, occurring on the islands of Java and Bali in the west of the country.

Figs 1 to 3 : Female specimen in secondary forest adjacent to the Petanu River, Bali, Indonesia. Note the small, blue gular flag beneath the throat, which identifies the specimen as female.

Figs 1

Figs 2

Figs 3

Reference :

McGuire, J. A., and Kiew, B. H., 2001. Phylogenetic systematics of Southeast Asian flying lizards (Iguania: Agamidae: Draco) as inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 72: 203–229.

Video :