Draco (genus)

Draco is a genus of agamid lizards that are sometimes called flying dragons, flying lizards, gliding dragons, gliding lizards or simply dragons. The ribs and their connecting membrane can be extended to create a kind of wing (a patagium) The hindlimbs are flattened and wing-like in cross-section, and a small set of flaps on the neck serve as a horizontal stabilizers. 

They live in forests, and eat insects. They cannot fly, but often get lift as they glide. Glides as long as 60 m have been recorded, over which the animal loses only 10 m in height. They are quite small. One species is only about 20 cm long.Piper, Ross 2007. Extraordinary animals: an encyclopedia of curious and unusual animals. Greenwood Press.

The only time a flying lizard comes to the ground is when a female is ready to lay her eggs. She descends the tree she is on and makes a nest hole by forcing her head into the soil. She then lays 2–5 eggs before filling the hole. She guards the eggs for approximately 24 hours, but then leaves and has nothing more to do with her offspring.

 Species 
There are about 42 species.

 Draco abbreviatus Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 – Singapore flying dragon
 Draco beccarii W. Peters & Doria, 1878
 Draco biaro Lazell, 1987 – Lazell's flying dragon
 Draco bimaculatus Günther, 1864 – two-spotted flying lizard
 Draco blanfordii Boulenger, 1885 – Blanford's flying dragon, Blanford’s flying lizard, Blanford's gliding lizard
 Draco boschmai Hennig, 1936
 Draco caerulhians Lazell, 1992
 Draco cornutus Günther, 1864
 Draco cristatellus Günther, 1872 – crested flying dragon
 Draco cyanopterus W. Peters, 1867
 Draco dussumieri A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1837 – Indian flying lizard, Western Ghats flying lizard, southern flying lizard
 Draco fimbriatus Kuhl, 1820 – fringed flying dragon, crested gliding lizard
 Draco formosus Boulenger, 1900 – dusky gliding lizard
 Draco guentheri Boulenger, 1885 – Günther's flying lizard, Guenther's flying lizard
 Draco haematopogon Gray, 1831 – red-bearded flying dragon, yellow-bearded gliding lizard
 Draco indochinensis M.A. Smith, 1928 – Indochinese flying lizard, Indochinese gliding lizard
 Draco iskandari McGuire et al., 2007
 Draco jareckii Lazell, 1992
 Draco lineatus Daudin, 1802 – lined flying dragon
 Draco maculatus (Gray, 1845) – spotted flying dragon
 Draco maximus Boulenger, 1893 – great flying dragon, giant gliding lizard
 Draco melanopogon Boulenger, 1887 – black-bearded gliding lizard, black-barbed flying dragon
 Draco mindanensis Stejneger, 1908 – Mindanao flying dragon, Mindanao flying lizard
 Draco modiglianii Vinciguerra, 1892 – lined flying dragon
 Draco norvillii Alcock, 1895 – Norvill's flying lizard
 Draco obscurus Boulenger, 1887 – dusky gliding lizard
 Draco ornatus (Gray, 1845) – white-spotted flying lizard
 Draco palawanensis McGuire & Alcala, 2000
 Draco punctatus Boulenger, 1900 – punctate flying dragon
 Draco quadrasi Boettger, 1893 – Quadras's flying lizard
 Draco quinquefasciatus Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 – five-lined flying dragon, five-banded gliding lizard
 Draco reticulatus Günther, 1864
 Draco rhytisma Musters, 1983
 Draco spilonotus Günther, 1872 – Sulawesi lined gliding lizard
 Draco spilopterus Wiegmann, 1834 – Philippine flying dragon
 Draco sumatranus Schlegel, 1844 – common gliding lizard
 Draco supriatnai McGuire et al., 2007
 Draco taeniopterus Günther, 1861 – Thai flying dragon, barred flying dragon, barred gliding lizard
 Draco timoriensis Kuhl, 1820 – Timor flying dragon
 Draco volans Linnaeus, 1758 – common flying dragon
 Draco walkeri Boulenger, 1891

 References 


Category:Dragons
Category:Iguania
Category:Reptiles of Asia