Frilled lizard
Frilled lizard | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Agamidae |
Subfamily: | Amphibolurinae |
Genus: | Chlamydosaurus Gray, 1825 |
Species: | C. kingii
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Binomial name | |
Chlamydosaurus kingii Gray, 1825
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Distribution of Chlamydosaurus kingii |
The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii), also known as the frillneck lizard, frill-necked lizard or frilled dragon, is a
around its neck, which usually stays folded against the lizard's body. It reaches 90 cm (35 in) from head to tail and can weigh 600 g (1.3 lb). Males are larger and more robust than females. The lizard's body is generally grey, brown, orangish-brown, or black in colour. The frills have red, orange, yellow, or white colours.The frilled lizard is largely
Taxonomy
British zoologist
The frilled lizard is classified in the family
The following cladogram is based on Pyron and colleagues (2013).[9]
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Description
The frilled lizard grows to a total length of around 90 centimetres (35 in) and a head-body length of 27 cm (11 in), and weighs up to 600 g (1.3 lb).[8][10][11] It has a particularly large and wide head; a long neck to accommodate the frill; long legs and a tail that makes most of its total length.[6][10][12] The species is sexually dimorphic, males being larger than females[8][10] and having proportionally bigger frills, heads and jaws.[13] The corners of the frilled lizard's eyes are pointed and the rounded nostrils face away from each other and angle downwards. Most of the lizard's scales are keeled, having a ridge down the centre. From the backbone to the sides, the scales alternate between small and large.[6]
The distinctive frill is a flap of skin that extends from the head and neck and contains several folded ridges. When fully extended, the frill is disc-shaped and can reach over four times the length of the animal's torso in diameter. Otherwise it wraps around the body.
Frilled lizards vary between grey, brown, orangish-brown, and black dorsally, the underside being paler white or yellow. Males have a dark belly but a lighter chest. The underside and lateral sides of the species are sprinkled with dark brown markings that merge to create bands on the tail.[6] The colours of the frills vary based on range; lizards west of the Ord River have red-coloured frills, those living between the river and the Carpentarian Gap have orange frills, and those east of the gap have yellow to white frills. New Guinean frilled lizards are yellow-frilled.[8] The more colourful frills have white patches which may add to the display.[17] Colouration is mainly created by carotenoids and pteridine pigments; lizards with red and orange frills have more carotenoids than those with yellow and white frills, the latter two are also lacking in pteridines.[8][18] Yellow colouration has been linked to higher steroid hormones.[18] Among western lizards, the amount of red or orange colouring correlates with success in display competitions between males of similar size.[19]
Distribution and habitat
The frilled lizard inhabits northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Its Australian range stretches from the Kimberley region of
Behaviour and ecology
The frilled lizard is a diurnal (daytime) and arboreal species,[8] spending over 90% each day up in the trees. It spends as little time on the ground as possible, mostly to feed, interact socially, or to travel to a new tree. Males move around more, 69 m (75 yd) per day on average versus 23 m (25 yd) for females at Kakadu National Park.[10] In the same area, male lizards were found to have an average home range of 1.96 ha (4.8 acres) during the dry season and 2.53 ha (6.3 acres) during the wet season; females used 0.63 ha (1.6 acres) and 0.68 ha (1.7 acres) for the wet and dry seasons, respectively.[10][21] Male lizards assert their boundaries with frill displays.[15] Frilled lizards are capable of moving bipedally and do so while hunting or to escape from predators. To keep balanced, they lean their heads far back enough, so it lines up behind the tail base.[10][12][17]
These lizards are more active during the wet season, when they select smaller trees and are more commonly seen near the ground; during the dry season, they use larger trees and are found at greater heights.
Frilled lizards primarily feed on insects and other invertebrates, and very rarely take vertebrates. Prominent prey includes termites,
Frilled lizards face threats from
Frilled lizards can breed during the late dry and early wet seasons.[10] Competing males display with gaping mouths and spread frills. Fights can ensue, in which the lizards pounce and bite each other's heads.[15] The female digs a shallow cavity to leave her eggs.[28][29] They can lay multiple clutches per season, and the number of eggs in a clutch can vary from four to over 20.[10][28] The incubation period can last two to four months,[28][29] with milder temperatures producing more males and more extreme temperatures producing more females.[29] Hatchlings have proportionally smaller frills than adults.[15] Lizards grow during the wet season when food is more abundant,[22] and males grow faster than females.[30] Juvenile males also disperse further from their hatching area.[31] The species reaches sexual maturity within two years; males live up to six years compared to four years for females.[21]
Conservation
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the frilled lizard as of least concern, due to its abundance and wide range, but warns that its population may be locally declining in some areas. It is a popular species in the pet trade, which may threaten some wild populations. Most pet lizards appear to come from Indonesia, as export of them is banned in Australia and Papua New Guinea.[1] Nevertheless, the Indonesian government themselves have allocated the frilled lizard as a protected species under the Article 20 of the Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation On Types of Protected Plants and Animals.[32] Being difficult to breed in captivity, many presumed captive bred lizards are likely to have been taken from the wild. Frilled lizards may also be threatened by feral cats,[1] though they do not appear to be significantly affected by the invasive cane toad.[33]
Relationship with humans
The frilled lizard is considered to be among the most iconic Australian animals along with the kangaroo and koala.[10] Archaeological evidence indicates that frilled lizards were eaten by some indigenous peoples in ancient times.[34] In the late 19th century, William Saville-Kent brought a live lizard to England where it was observed by fellow biologists. Another specimen was kept at a reptile display in Paris, as reptiles were becoming more popular in captivity.[2]
Because of its unique appearance and behaviour, the creature has often been used in media. In Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Jurassic Park, the dinosaur Dilophosaurus was portrayed with a similar neck frill that rose when attacking.[14] Its image has been used in the 1994 LGBT-themed film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.[35] The species has been featured on some Australian coins.[10]
References
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- ^ "Peraturan Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Nomor P.106/Menlhk/Setjen/Kum.1/12/2018 tentang Perubahan Kedua Atas Peraturan Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Nomor P.20/Menlhk/Setjen/Kum.1/6/2018 tentang Jenis Tumbuhan dan Satwa Yang Dilindungi" (PDF) (in Indonesian). Ministry of Environment and Forestry. 28 December 2018 – via Mongabay.
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- ^ Paige, L. R. (2016). "Drag queens, thorny devils and frilled lizards: "queerness" takes to the outback in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture. 16 (2).