Australian water dragon
| Water dragon | |
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| Intellagama lesueurii howittii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Agamidae |
| Genus: |
Intellagama Wells & Wellington, 1985 |
| Species: | I. lesueurii |
| Binomial name | |
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Intellagama lesueurii (Gray, 1831) |
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| Subspecies | |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Australian water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii, formerly Physignathus lesueurii ), which includes the eastern water dragon (I. l. lesueurii ) and the Gippsland water dragon (I. l. 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.
The specific name, lesueurii, is in honor of French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur.
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 (3 feet) and weigh about 1 kg. Males show bolder colouration and have larger heads than females. Colour is less distinct in juveniles.
The Australian water dragon is the only species of the genus Intellagama.
There are two subspecies; Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii (eastern water dragon) and I. l. howitti (Gippsland water dragon). I. l. lesueurii tends towards white, yellow and red on the throat and possesses a dark band behind its eye; I. l. 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.
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