Draco volans, or the Flying Dragon, is a member of the genus of gliding lizards Draco. It can spread out folds of skin attached to its movable ribs to form "wings" that it uses to glide from tree to tree over distances upwards of 8 meters (25 feet); however, like all modern reptiles, it lacks the ability to sustain powered flight, and is capable only of gliding. Its wings are brightly colored with orange, red and blue spots and stripes, and they provide camouflage

Camouflage

Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...

 when folded. The flying dragon can reach lengths as long as 19 - 23 cm. It feeds on arboreal ants and termite

Termite

Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...

s.

Taxonomy

They are classified as dragons in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Agamidae

Agamidae

Agamids, lizards of the family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Phylogenetically they may be sister to the Iguanidae, and have a similar appearance. Agamids usually have...

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Distribution

Common Gliding Lizard

Common Gliding Lizard

The Common Gliding Lizard is a lizard with elongated ribs and skin flaps on the sides of its body. When opened, these skin flaps allow it to glide between tree trunks. It is primarily a tree dweller, except that the females come down to the forest floor to lay eggs. The body length is of about...

s (D. sumatranus) and Spotted Gliding Lizards (Draco maculatus

Draco maculatus

Draco maculatus is an agamid flying lizard capable of gliding from tree to tree found in parts of Southeast Asia. It is commonly named the Spotted Flying Dragon.-Description:...

) are common in open and disturbed areas; Five-banded Gliding Lizards (D. quinquefasciatus) are usually found in dense forest with relatively small, closely spaced trees; Giant Gliding Lizards (D. maximus) are somewhat restricted to riparian areas; the smaller Yellow-bearded Gliding Lizards (D. haematopogon) and larger Blanford's Gilding Lizard (Draco blanfordi) occur at higher elevations than most other species; and the Black-bearded Gliding Lizards and the larger Dusky Gliding Lizards (D. formosus) are habitat generalists in lowland forests.

Description

Flying Dragons are brown with bluish coloration on the undersides of their wings and a yellow colored dewlap. Females tend to have bluish dewlaps and yellow coloring on the wings' undersides. Their heads are blunted and fairly short, and each leg has five clawed toes.
Flying Dragons have low, long bodies. They have flaps of skin along the ribs, which can be extended into "wings" by the lizard elongating its ribs. They have a dewlap, or gular flap, which can also be extended. Generally, Flying Dragons grow to a little less than 12 inches in length. Although females are usually larger than males, their dewlaps are a bit smaller.

Size

This lizard can get to about 20 cm long. Its wingspan is usually 3/4 of its body length.

Breeding

During breeding season the female flying dragon will venture down to the forest floor and bury her 1-4 eggs in the soil. Its range is the Philippines to Malaysia and Indonesia. They have short sticky tongues that they use to eat the ants and termites with.

Behavior

The Flying Dragons are native to the southwest tropical forests of Asia and India, including Borneo and the Philippine Islands. In the wild, the Flying Dragon will generally claim a territory. Usually, males will mark two or three trees as their own, and one to three female Flying Dragons will live in each tree. When the male Flying Dragon meets another animal, he may extend his dewlap partially or fully, extend his wings partially or fully, perform a combination of dewlap or wing extension, or bob his body up and down. If he meets a female, he may circle her. Extending the wings and dewlap makes the Flying Dragon appear larger, and he will usually exhibit such behavior if he feels threatened. Flying Dragons eat insects. They catch such prey by sitting under a tree until an insect passes by, and then they eat it.

Gliding

In order to move from one place to another, Flying Dragons will spread the skin flaps along their abdomens and glide out of trees or from other high areas. They never glide when it is raining or when it is windy. When the Flying Dragon is about to take off, it will point its head toward the ground.

External links

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• Taxonomy