Draco guentheri
| Draco guentheri | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Agamidae |
| Genus: | Draco |
| Species: | D. guentheri |
| Binomial name | |
| Draco guentheri Boulenger, 1885 | |
| Synonyms | |
Draco guentheri, commonly known as Guenther's flying lizard, is an agamid "flying dragon" endemic to the Philippines.
Geographic range
It is found on the islands of Basilan, Bongao, Jolo, Mindanao, Sanga-Sanga, Siasi, and Simunul.
Etymology
It is named after the German-British zoologist Albert Günther.[2]
Taxonomy
This species was originally described in 1885 by the Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger, who named it Draco guentheri.
The species is also notable for being collected by the Philippine national hero José Rizal during his exile in Dapitan, Mindanao. Rizal sent specimens to Europe, to the German zoologist Benno Wandolleck. In 1900 Wandolleck, thinking Rizal's specimens represented a new species, described it and named it Draco rizali, thereby creating a synonym. Rizal's specimens, subsequently, were destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in World War II.[3]
In 1936 Hennig considered this lizard to be part of what he called a subspecies, Draco volans reticulatus. In 1993 Gaulke raised it to full species status. And most recently, in 2000, McGuire and Alcala once again recognized Boulenger's original Draco guentheri as a valid species.
References
- ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ Uetz, Peter; Hallermann, Jakob; Hosek, Jiri. "Draco guentheri BOULENGER, 1885". The Reptile Database. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ↑ Fadul, José A., ed. (2007). Encyclopedia Rizaliana: Student Edition. Lulu. p. 32. ISBN 1430311428.
Further reading
- Boulenger G. 1885. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ, Eublepharidæ, Uroplatidæ, Pygopodidæ, Agamidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I- XXXII. (Draco guentheri, pp. 257-258 + Plate XX, Figure 2).
- McGuire JA, Alcala AC. 2000. A Taxonomic Revision of the Flying Lizards (Iguania: Agamidae: Draco) of the Philippine Islands, with a Description of a New Species. Herpetological Monographs 14: 81-138. (Draco guentheri, p. 100).