REPTILIA: SQUAMATA: AGAMIDAE: Physignathus

Physignathus lesueurii (Gray, 1831)

Australian Water Dragon

Photo at right & text by Dr. Robert Sprackland.

Range: Much of eastern coastal Australia, from the central Cape York Peninsula near Coen south into Victoria.

Diagnosis:

Description: A boldly marked lizard that grows to 650 mm/26 inches.

Male water dragon in southern Queensland, Australia. Photo by
Daniel J. Diessner.

Natural History:

Reproduction:

Taxonomy & Relationships: Two subspecies have been named. The northern, Physignathus l. lesueurii (Gray, 1831) occurs from the southeastern edge of the Cape York Peninsula to central New South Wales. P. l. howittii ranges from central New South Wales into Victoria.

Variation:

Additional Comments:

Type Specimen:

Literature:

Henkel, F-W. and Wolfgang Schmidt. 1997. Agamen im Terrarium. Landbuch Verlag, Hannover.

Manthey, Ulrich and Wolfgang Grossman. 1997. Amphibien & Reptilien Südostasiens. In German. Natur und Tier Verlag.

Manthey, Ulrich and Norbert Schuster. 1996. Agamid lizards. TFH Publications.

Sprackland, Robert. 1992. Giant Lizards. TFH Publications.