Australian water dragon
Australian Water Dragon | |
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Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii | |
Intellagama lesueurii howittii | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Agamidae |
Genus: | Intellagama Wellington , 1985
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Species: | I. lesueurii
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Binomial name | |
Intellagama lesueurii (Gray, 1831)
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Subspecies | |
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Synonyms[2][3] | |
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The Australian water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii),
The Gippsland water dragon may be distinguished by its green-blue colour, especially during the breeding season, when this overall colouration is quite distinct. Another key difference is the absence of a prominent dark stripe behind the eye in the Gippsland water dragon, which is characteristic of the Eastern Water Dragon. The gular region of the two subspecies is also quite different, with Intellagama l. howittii having orange-yellow streaked with darker striping, which is sometimes quite striking, particularly in mature males, whereas Intellagama l. lesueurii typically has a pale, unmarked throat that is sometimes immaculate white in mature males. The belly and chest of Intellagama l. howittii are also quite different to Intellagama l. lesueurii, usually being blackish green, especially in mature males, and the limbs are often quite dark, sometimes even black. Whereas in Intellagama l. lesueurii the chest and belly are usually bright to deep red, particularly in mature males. Intellagama l. lesueurii also have relatively strong dark transverse bars across the back, whereas these dark bars are often much reduced in the Gippsland Water Dragon.
Etymology
The specific name, lesueurii, is in honor of French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur.[4]
Taxonomy and systematics
The species was first described by John Edward Gray in 1831 as Lophura lesueurii, from a specimen collected by Lesueur & Péron at "Parramatta" or "Port Jackson".[5][6] Gray listed three species of Lophura: Cuvier's (Lophura Cuvierii Gray), Lesueur's (Lophura Lesueurii Gray), and beautiful (Lophura Concinna Gray, Physignathus Concinnus[a] Cuvier).[5]
In 1845,
The subspecies howitii was described by
Hoser (2020) proposed a third species: the Northern water dragon Intellagama wellsandwellingtonorum. The North Queensland Intellagama population, which extends from Townsville in the south through the wet tropical zone of Cairns to Cooktown in the north, is asserted to be allopatric with the mid-latitude population from Rockhampton south into New South Wales. The southern population ranges from Kiama south to Victoria. The northern dragons have smaller spines, "a series of 5–7 deep yellow, to yellowish-orange squarish to diamond-shped blotches along the mid flanks", and other colouration differences.[11]
Description
Australian water dragons have long powerful limbs and claws for climbing, a long muscular laterally-compressed tail for swimming, and prominent
Including their tails, which comprise about two-thirds of their total length, adult females grow to about 60 cm (2 feet) long, and adult males can grow slightly longer than one metre (39 inches) and weigh about 1 kg. Males show bolder colouration and have larger heads than females.[14][15] Colour is less distinct in juveniles.[16]
Species variation
The Australian water dragon is the only species of the genus Intellagama.[2]
There are two subspecies; Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii (eastern water dragon) and Intellagama lesueurii howittii (Gippsland water dragon). The nominate subspecies Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii has a dark band behind its eye and an essentially un-patterned throat that tends towards white and is often immaculate in adult males. Whereas the subspecies Intellagama lesueurii howittii lacks the dark stripe behind the eye and has a patterned throat, which is lightly patterned in females but boldly patterned and coloured in adult males. This patterning usually consists of a dark stripe on either side of its throat, and blotched with orange, yellow or blue towards the centre of the throat. Both subspecies are light greenish grey in overall colour (greener in I. l. howittii), with darker bands running across their back, tail and legs. The water dragon can slowly change skin colour to aid its camouflage. The skin will shed during periods of growth and seasonally to reveal brighter colours in Spring that may aid breeding success.
Behaviour
Australian water dragons are extremely shy in the wild, but readily adapt to continual human presence in suburban parks and gardens. They are fast runners and strong climbers. When faced with a potential predator, they seek cover in thick vegetation, or drop from an overhanging branch into water. They are able to swim totally submerged, and rest on the bottom of shallow creeks or lakes for up to 90 minutes,[13] to avoid detection.
Both males and females display typical
Breeding
Australian water dragons living in cooler Australian
When the young are born they stay near the entrance of the burrow for some time before leaving home. When they finally leave the nest, they tend to group together away from the adult population.[14]
Habitat
As its name suggests, the Australian water dragon is associated with water and is semi-aquatic. It can be found near creeks, rivers, lakes, and other water bodies that have basking sites such as overhanging branches or rocks in open or filtered sun. The species is very common in the rainforest section of
There are anecdotal reports of a small colony living on the Sixth Creek in the Forest Range area of South Australia, hundreds of kilometers outside their natural range, which were probably introduced there during the 1980s by a local reptile enthusiast.[citation needed]
Predators, threats and diet
Australian water dragons are prey to carnivorous birds, snakes, cats, dogs, and foxes. Nestlings and smaller juvenile water dragons are vulnerable to predation by kookaburras, currawongs, butcherbirds and other carnivorous birds.[17] They are also prone to becoming road kill due to the attraction of warm bitumen and concrete for basking.[17] The Australian water dragon's diet depends on its size. Juveniles and yearlings tend to feed on spiders and small insects such as ants, crickets, and caterpillars. When they get bigger, so does their prey. An adult diet includes small rodents, such as baby mice, other reptiles, frogs, fish, crabs, yabbies, molluscs, worms and eggs, although insects are still the most commonly consumed.[18][19][20][21][22][23] Types of vegetation reportedly consumed include figs, lilly-pilly fruits, berries, and other fruits and flowers.[24][25][26]
Gallery
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Eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) at Lane Cove National Park
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Australian water dragon, Brisbane
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Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii (eastern water dragon) at Kirra, Queensland
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Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii (eastern water dragon)
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Swimming across river in Melbourne
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Head detail of the eastern subspecies
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Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii (eastern water dragon) basking on a log in suburban Sydney
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Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii swimming, Shoalhaven River, New South Wales
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Australian water dragon surveying Sydney Harbour
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Eastern water dragon at Brisbane Botanic Gardens
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Eastern water dragon at Brisbane Botanic Gardens
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Juvenile eastern water dragon in Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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Eastern water dragon in Brisbane Botanical Gardens
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Head of an eastern water dragon poking out of a pond in Brisbane Botanical Gardens
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Two male Australian eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii ) fighting.
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Australian eastern water dragon basking in the sun at Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
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A Dragon that has been marked for research purposes.
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Adult male Australian Eastern Water Dragon in a tree overhanging a creek in suburban Brisbane
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Northern form, showing yellow spots on flank (photographed near Cooktown).
Notes
- Cochin-China).
- Lophura was already used for a genus of pheasants, the current name is Hydrosaurus amboinensis.
- ^ Shawii now considered to be conspecific with amboinensis.
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ .
- ^ "Intellagama lesueurii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Physignathus lesueurii, p. 156).
- ^ a b Gray, John Edward (1831). "A Synopsis of the species of class Reptilia". In Griffith, Edward (ed.). A classified index and synopsis of the animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organisation by the Baron Cuvier. Volume IX, Reptilia. London: Whittaker & Co. p. 60.
- ^ "Spécimen MNHN-RA-0.392: Intellagama lesueurii (Gray, 1831)". science.mnhn.fr. Muséum National de Histoire Naturelle. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ Gray, John Edward (1845). Catalogue of the Specimens of lizards in the collection of the British museum. London. pp. 247–248.
- ^ McCoy, Frederick (1884). "Physignathus leusueurii (Gray), Var. howitii (McCoy)". Natural History of Victoria. Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria, or, Figures and Descriptions of the Living Species of All Classes of the Victorian Indigenous Animals. Decade IX. Melbourne: Government Printer: 7–10, plate 81.
- ^ doi:10.24199/j.mmv.1970.31.13. P. l. howitii is on page 117
- ^ "Specimen D 1822: Physignathus lesueurii howittii McCoy, 1884". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ a b Hoser, Raymond T. (25 April 2020). "A new species of Water Dragon from North Queensland, Australia (Reptilia: Squamata: Sauria: Agamidae: Intellagama Wells and Wellington, 1985)" (PDF). Australasian Journal of Herpetology (43): 38–40. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Maruyama, Kaori; Langkilde, Tracy, Physignathus lesueurii (PDF), James Cook University, archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-27, retrieved 2009-05-21
- ^ a b c Australian National Botanic Gardens: Research into Water Dragons Archived June 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Critters of Calamvale Creek: Eastern Water Dragon". Calamvalecreek.awardspace.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
- ^ "Australian Museum Online: Wildlife of Sydney". Archived from the original on 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
- ^ "Critters of Calamvale Creek: baby Eastern Water Dragon". Calamvalecreek.awardspace.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
- ^ a b Australian National Botanic Gardens: Predators of Water Dragons Archived November 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Australian Water Dragon".
- ^ "Eastern Water Dragon".
- ^ "Eastern Water Dragon". 23 September 2020.
- ^ "Eastern Water Dragon - the Animal Facts - Appearance, Diet, Habitat".
- ^ "Australian Water Dragon Care Sheet".
- ^ "Water Dragon".
- ^ "Australian Water Dragon".
- ^ "Eastern Water Dragon".
- ^ "Eastern Water Dragon - the Animal Facts - Appearance, Diet, Habitat".
Further reading
- Boulenger GA. 1885. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. ... Agamidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I-XXXII. (Physignathus lesueurii, pp. 398–399).
External links
- Video of male Gippsland Water Dragons fighting on Youtube
- Australian National Botanic Gardens Research
- Maruyama, K.; Langkilde, T. (1999). "Physignathus lesueurii " (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-27.
- "Physignathus lesueurii ". James Cook University - Discover Nature. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- Reptiles of Lamington National Park. "Physignathus lesueurii ". Archived from the original on 2004-03-22.
- "Physignathus lesueurii howittii ". ozanimals.com.
- Physignathus lesueurii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database