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Australian water dragon

(Intellagama lesueurii)

galery

Description

The Australian water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii), which includes the eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) and the Gippsland water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii howittii) subspecies, is an arboreal agamid species native to eastern Australia from Victoria northwards to Queensland. There may be a small introduced population on the south-east coast of South Australia. Australian water dragons have long powerful limbs and claws for climbing, a long muscular laterally-compressed tail for swimming, and prominent nuchal and vertebral crests. (A nuchal crest is a central row of spikes at the base of the head. These spikes continue down the spine, getting smaller as they reach the base of the tail.) 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. Colour is less distinct in juveniles. Species variation The Australian water dragon is the only species of the genus Intellagama. There are two subspecies; Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii (eastern water dragon) and Intellagama lesueurii howitti (Gippsland water dragon). Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii tends towards white, yellow and red on the throat and possesses a dark band behind its eye; Intelligama lesueurii howitti lacks this and instead has dark bands on either side of its throat, which is blotched with yellow, orange, or blue. Both subspecies are light greenish grey in overall colour with black 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. 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 Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha in Queensland, and a monument has been built to them there. There are anecdotal reports of a small colony living on the Sixth Creek in the Forest Range area of South Australia, hundreds of kilometres outside their natural range, which were probably introduced there during the 1980s by a local reptile enthusiast.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Family:Agamidae
Genus:Intellagama
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