{{Redirect-several|Flying dragon|Flying lizard}} {{Short description|Genus of lizards}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Draco taeniopterus Gunther, 1861 from Bulon.jpg | image_caption = ''D. taeniopterus'' in mid-glide, on Bulon Island, Thailand | image2 = Draco spilonotus.JPG | image2_caption = Male ''D. spilonotus'' extending the dewlap (throat flap) and patagia ("wings") in Sulawesi, Indonesia | taxon = Draco | authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 41 species (see text) | range_map = Draco distribution.svg }}
'''''Draco''''' is a genus of agamid lizards that are also known as '''flying lizards''', '''flying dragons''' or '''gliding lizards'''. These lizards are capable of gliding flight via membranes that may be extended to create wings (patagia), formed by a support structure from an enlarged set of ribs.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Colbert |first=Edwin H. |title=Adaptations for gliding in the lizard Draco |url=https://archive.org/details/adaptationsglid2283colb/adaptationsglid2283colb/mode/2up |journal=American Museum Novitates |date=March 1967 |issue=2283 |pages=1-20 }}</ref> They are arboreal insectivores.
While not capable of powered flight they often obtain lift in the course of their gliding flights. Glides as long as {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}} have been recorded, over which the animal loses only {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height which makes for a glide ratio of 6:1. This is done by a lizard of only around {{convert|20|cm|in|abbr=on}} in total length, tail included.<ref name=ross>Piper, Ross (2007). 'Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals'. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Press{{Dubious|date=December 2023|reason=The source is not a scientific material; it is an encyclopedia for children}}.</ref> They are found across Southeast Asia and Southern India and are fairly common in forests, areca gardens, teak plantations and shrub jungle.
==History of discovery and distribution== left|thumb|Skeleton of ''Draco''Carl Linnaeus described the genus in 1758, with the type species being ''Draco volans.'' The name of the genus is from the Latin term for dragons of mythology. Some scholars as late as the early-mid 20th century who had not seen the animal in person doubted its flight capabilities or whether the patagia played a significant role in the gliding, but research in the late 1950s firmly established the gliding function of the patagia.<ref name=":0" />
Species of ''Draco'' are widely distributed in the forests of Southeast Asia, with one species, ''Draco dussumieri,'' inhabiting Southern India.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Honda|first1=Masanao|author1-link=species:Masanao Honda|last2=Ota|first2=Hidetoshi|author2-link=species:Hidetoshi Ota|last3=Kobayashi|first3=Mari|author3-link=species:Mari Kobayashi|last4=Nabhitabhata|first4=Jarujin|author4-link=species:Jarujin Nabhitabhata|last5=Yong|first5=Hoi-Sen|author5-link=species:Hoi-Sen Yong|last6=Hikida|first6=Tsutomu|date=June 1999|title=Phylogenetic Relationships of the Flying Lizards, Genus Draco (Reptilia, Agamidae)|url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2108/zsj.16.535|journal=Zoological Science|language=en|volume=16|issue=3|pages=535–549|doi=10.2108/zsj.16.535|issn=0289-0003|hdl=2241/104136|s2cid=59043102|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
== Description and behaviour == The size of ''Draco'' species varies substantially, with adults ranging from {{Convert|3|g}} to over {{Convert|35|g}} in body mass,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McGuire |first=Jimmy A. |last2=Dudley |first2=Robert |date=July 2005 |title=The Cost of Living Large: Comparative Gliding Performance in Flying Lizards (Agamidae: Draco ) |url=http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/430725 |journal=The American Naturalist |language=en |volume=166 |issue=1 |pages=93–106 |doi=10.1086/430725 |issn=0003-0147|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and from {{Convert|15-40|cm|in}} in total length (or {{Convert|6-15|cm|in}} including only the head and body, a measurement called the snout-vent length).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Buffa |first=Valentin |last2=Salaün |first2=William |last3=Cinnella |first3=Paola |date=2024-03-01 |title=Influence of posture during gliding flight in the flying lizard Draco volans |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/ad1dbb |journal=Bioinspiration & Biomimetics |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=026008 |doi=10.1088/1748-3190/ad1dbb |issn=1748-3182}}</ref> They are sexually dimorphic, with females being larger than males.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Srichairat|first1=Nattawut|last2=Duengkae|first2=Prateep|author2-link=species:Prateep Duengkae|last3=Jantrarotai|first3=Pattanee|last4=Chuaynkern|first4=Yodchaiy|author4-link=species:Yodchai Chuaynkern|date=March 2016|title=Sexual dimorphism in the spotted flying lizard ''Draco maculatus'' (Gray, 1845) (Squamata: Agamidae) from Thailand|journal=Agriculture and Natural Resources|language=en|volume=50|issue=2|pages=120–124|doi=10.1016/j.anres.2015.08.002|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Husak |first1=Jerry F. |last2=Mcguire |first2=Jimmy Adair |date=2014 |title=Does 'gliding while gravid' explain Rensch's rule in flying lizards? |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=113 |issue= |pages=270–282 |doi=10.1111/bij.12319 |doi-access=free |quote=Similarly, in some Draco it has been suggested that females have larger heads for their body size than males to counterbalance an increased weight burden that is displaced posteriorly during gravidity.}}</ref> They are insectivorous, primarily feeding on eusocial insects such as ants and termites.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mori|first1=Akira|author1-link=species:Akira Mori|last2=Hikida|first2=Tsutomu|author2-link=species:Tsutomu Hikida|date=1994-02-01|title=Field Observations on the Social Behavior of the Flying Lizard, Draco volans sumatranus, in Borneo|journal=Copeia|volume=1994|issue=1|page=124|doi=10.2307/1446678|jstor=1446678}}</ref> Members of ''Draco'' are primarily arboreal, inhabiting tropical rainforests, and are almost never found on the forest floor.<ref name=":0" /> The colour of the patagium is strongly correlated to the colour of falling leaves in their range, which complements their cryptic camouflage resembling tree bark; both are likely to be camouflage against predatory birds.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Klomp|first1=D. A.|last2=Stuart-Fox|author2-link=species:Devi Stuart-Fox|first2=D.|last3=Das|first3=I.|author3-link=species:Indraneil Das|last4=Ord|first4=T. J.|date=December 2014|title=Marked colour divergence in the gliding membranes of a tropical lizard mirrors population differences in the colour of falling leaves|journal=Biology Letters |language=en|volume=10|issue=12|article-number=20140776|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2014.0776 |pmc=4298188|pmid=25540157}}</ref>
=== Gliding === {{multiple image | align = center | total_width = 450 | image1 = Draco takeoff.gif | alt1 = | image2 = Draco landing.gif | alt2 = | footer = | caption1 = Takeoff and initial stages of gliding, slowed down 10x, showing the attachment of the forelimbs to the gliding membrane | caption2 = Landing, slowed down 20x }}The lizards are well known for their "display structures" and ability to glide long distances using their wing-like, patagial membranes supported by elongated thoracic ribs to generate lift forces.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1439979|pages=338–339|last1=Herre|first1=Albert W.|author1-link=species:Albert William Christian Theodore Herre|title=On the gliding of flying lizards, genus ''Draco ''|volume=1958|issue=4|journal=Copeia|year=1958|doi=10.2307/1439979}}</ref> The hindlimbs in cross section form a streamlined and contoured airfoil, and are also probably involved in generating lift.<ref name=":0" /> Gliding is both used to escape predators, and as the primary means of moving through their forest habitat.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=McGuire|first1=J. A.|author1-link=species:Jimmy Adair McGuire|last2=Dudley|first2=R.|author2-link=species:Robert Dudley|date=2011-07-28|title=The biology of gliding in flying lizards (genus ''Draco'') and their fossil and extant analogs|journal=Integrative and Comparative Biology|volume=51|issue=6|pages=983–990|doi=10.1093/icb/icr090 |pmid=21798987 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The folding and unfolding of the membrane is controlled by the iliocostalis and intercostal muscles, which in other lizards are used to control breathing. At takeoff, the lizard jumps and descends headfirst, orientating itself so that the underside of the body is parallel to the ground. During flight, the back arches, forming the patagium into a cambered surface, and the forelimbs grab the front of the patagium, forming a straight front edge to the aerofoil. The forelimbs are used to manipulate the patagium in order to adjust the trajectory during flight. Maximum gliding speeds have been found to be between 5.2 and 7.6 metres per second, depending on the species. During the landing process, the glide is mostly horizontal. Immediately before landing, the forelimbs release the patagium. The landing is forefeet-first, followed by hindfeet.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Dehling|first=J. Maximilian|author-link=species:J. Maximilian Dehling|date=2017-12-13|title=How lizards fly: A novel type of wing in animals|journal=PLOS ONE |language=en|volume=12|issue=12|article-number=e0189573|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0189573 |pmc=5728497|pmid=29236777|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1289573D|doi-access=free}}</ref> The shape of the gliding membrane does not correlate with body size, meaning the larger species have proportionately less lift-generating surface area and consequently higher wing loading.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=McGuire|first=Jimmy A.|date=February 2003|title=Allometric prediction of locomotor performance: an example from Southeast Asian flying lizards|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/346085|journal=The American Naturalist|language=en|volume=161|issue=2|pages=337–349|doi=10.1086/346085|pmid=12675377|s2cid=29494470|access-date=2021-06-02|archive-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602233046/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/346085|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
===Life history=== [[File:Draco lizard display.gif|thumb|right|Male ''D. dussumieri'' displaying for females by extending his dewlap, from Dandeli, India]] ''Draco'' lizards are highly territorial, with the home range consisting of one or a few trees. The trees are actively guarded by males, with territory-less males searching the forest landscape in search of vacant areas. Experimental studies have determined that suitable unoccupied territories were claimed within a few hours of the removal of a dominant male. Females move freely through the territories. The patagium is used as a display structure during courtship and territorial disputes between rival males, alongside the opening of a brightly-colored dewlap that contrasts with their camouflaged body scalation.<ref name=":0" /> Males have a more prominently developed (more elongate) dewlap than females, as well as having crests on the tail (caudal) and cervical regions that are absent in females.<ref name=":3" /> The dewlap is translucent, and deliberately orientated perpendicular to the orientation of the sun during display in order to enhance visibility.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Klomp|first1=Danielle A.|last2=Stuart-Fox|first2=Devi|last3=Das|first3=Indraneil|last4=Ord|first4=Terry J.|date=February 2017|title=Gliding lizards use the position of the sun to enhance social display|journal=Biology Letters|language=en|volume=13|issue=2|article-number=20160979|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2016.0979 |pmid=28179410|pmc=5326517}}</ref> The only time a female flying lizard ventures to the ground is when she is ready to lay her eggs. She descends the tree she is on and makes a nest hole by forcing her head into the soil. She then lays a clutch of 2–5 eggs before filling the hole and guards the eggs for approximately 24 hours, but then leaves and has nothing more to do with her offspring.<ref name=ross/>
==Phylogenetics== Within Agamidae, ''Draco'' is a member of the subfamily Draconinae. Within Draconinae, ''Draco'' is most closely related to the genera ''Japalura'' and ''Ptyctolaemus.''<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Kai|author1-link=species:Kai Wang|last2=Che|first2=Jing|author2-link=species:Jing Che|last3=Lin|first3=Simin|author3-link=species:Si-Min Lin|last4=Deepak|first4=V|author4-link=species:Veerappan Deepak|last5=Aniruddha|first5=Datta-Roy|author5-link=species:Aniruddha Datta-Roy|last6=Jiang|first6=Ke|author6-link=species:Ke Jiang|last7=Jin|first7=Jieqiong|author7-link=species:Jie-Qiong Jin|last8=Chen|first8=Hongman|author8-link=species:Hong-Man Chen|last9=Siler|first9=Cameron D|author9-link=species:Cameron D. Siler|date=2019-01-01|title=Multilocus phylogeny and revised classification for mountain dragons of the genus Japalura s.l. (Reptilia: Agamidae: Draconinae) from Asia|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=185|issue=1|pages=246–267|doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zly034|issn=0024-4082}}</ref>
===Species=== [[File:Five-lined Flying Dragon (Draco quinquefasciatus) (14136387745).jpg|thumb|right|Size of ''D. quinquefasciatus'' in comparison to a human hand, from Sarawak, Malaysia]] [[File:2005-Draco-dussumieri.jpg|thumb|right|Highly camouflaged ''D. dussumieri'' from Bandipur National Park, India]]
The following 41 species are recognized:<ref name=RDB>{{NRDB genus |genus=Draco |access-date=8 June 2021}}</ref><ref>"''Draco'' ". ''Dahms Tierleben''. www.dahmstierleben.de.</ref>
{{div col}} * ''Draco abbreviatus'' {{small|Hardwicke & Gray, 1827}} – Singapore flying dragon * ''Draco beccarii'' {{small|W. Peters & Doria, 1878}}<ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (''Draco beccarii'', p. 21).</ref> * ''Draco biaro'' {{small|Lazell, 1987}} – Lazell's flying dragon * ''Draco bimaculatus'' {{small|Günther, 1864}} – two-spotted flying lizard * ''Draco blanfordii'' {{small|Boulenger, 1885}} – Blanford's flying dragon, Blanford's flying lizard, Blanford's gliding lizard * ''Draco boschmai'' {{small|Hennig, 1936}} * ''Draco caerulhians'' {{small|Lazell, 1992}} * ''Draco cornutus'' {{small|Günther, 1864}} * ''Draco cristatellus'' {{small|Günther, 1872}} – crested flying dragon * ''Draco cyanopterus'' {{small|W. Peters, 1867}} * ''Draco dussumieri'' {{small|A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1837}} – Indian flying lizard, Western Ghats flying lizard, southern flying lizard * ''Draco fimbriatus'' {{small|Kuhl, 1820}} – fringed flying dragon, crested gliding lizard * ''Draco formosus'' {{small|Boulenger, 1900}} – dusky gliding lizard * ''Draco guentheri'' {{small|Boulenger, 1885}} – Günther's flying lizard, Guenther's flying lizard * ''Draco haematopogon'' {{small|Gray, 1831}} – red-bearded flying dragon, yellow-bearded gliding lizard * ''Draco indochinensis'' {{small|M.A. Smith, 1928}} – Indochinese flying lizard, Indochinese gliding lizard * ''Draco iskandari'' {{small|McGuire et al., 2007}} * ''Draco jareckii'' {{small|Lazell, 1992}} * ''Draco lineatus'' {{small|Daudin, 1802}} – lined flying dragon * ''Draco maculatus'' {{small|(Gray, 1845)}} – spotted flying dragon * ''Draco maximus'' {{small|Boulenger, 1893}} – great flying dragon, giant gliding lizard * ''Draco melanopogon'' {{small|Boulenger, 1887}} – black-bearded gliding lizard, black-barbed flying dragon * ''Draco mindanensis'' {{small|Stejneger, 1908}} – Mindanao flying dragon, Mindanao flying lizard * ''Draco modiglianii'' {{small|Vinciguerra, 1892}} – lined flying dragon * ''Draco norvillii'' {{small|Alcock, 1895}} – Norvill's flying lizard * ''Draco obscurus'' {{small|Boulenger, 1887}} – dusky gliding lizard * ''Draco ornatus'' {{small|(Gray, 1845)}} – white-spotted flying lizard * ''Draco palawanensis'' {{small|McGuire & Alcala, 2000}} * ''Draco punctatus'' {{small|Boulenger, 1900}} – punctate flying dragon * ''Draco quadrasi'' {{small|Boettger, 1893}} – Quadras's flying lizard * ''Draco quinquefasciatus'' {{small|Hardwicke & Gray, 1827}} – five-lined flying dragon, five-banded gliding lizard * ''Draco reticulatus'' {{small|Günther, 1864}} * ''Draco rhytisma'' {{small|Musters, 1983}} * ''Draco spilonotus'' {{small|Günther, 1872}} – Sulawesi lined gliding lizard * ''Draco spilopterus'' {{small|Wiegmann, 1834}} – Philippine flying dragon * ''Draco sumatranus'' {{small|Schlegel, 1844}} – common gliding lizard * ''Draco supriatnai'' {{small|McGuire et al., 2007}} * ''Draco taeniopterus'' {{small|Günther, 1861}} – Thai flying dragon, barred flying dragon, barred gliding lizard * ''Draco timoriensis'' {{small|Kuhl, 1820}} – Timor flying dragon * ''Draco volans'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1758}} – common flying dragon * ''Draco walkeri'' {{small|Boulenger, 1891}} {{div col end}}
''Nota bene'': a binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Draco''.
==Similar prehistoric reptiles== {{multiple image | align = right | width = 250 | footer = | image2 = Gliding reptile size comparison.svg | image1 = Weigeltisaurus reconstruction.png | image3 = | total_width = | caption1 = Life restoration of the weigeltisaurid ''Weigeltisaurus jaekeli'', one of the oldest known gliding reptiles | direction = vertical | caption2 = Size comparison of ''Draco volans'' (purple, bottom right) to various unrelated prehistoric gliding reptiles (Weigeltisauridae, Kuehneosauridae, ''Mecistotrachelos'', ''Xianglong'') }}
Several other lineages of reptile known from the fossil record have convergently evolved similar gliding mechanisms consisting of a wing supported by elongated ribs or rod-like bones; the weigeltisaurids are the oldest of these, living in the Late Permian from around 258 to 252 million years ago. Other lineages include the Triassic (252-200 million years ago) kuehneosaurids and ''Mecistotrachelos,'' and the Cretaceous (~120 million years ago) lizard ''Xianglong''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />
==See also== * Flying and gliding animals * ''Chrysopelea'' gliding snake
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{Commons category|Draco}} {{Wikispecies|Draco}}
* Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition''. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman & Company. xi + 378 pp. {{ISBN|0-7167-0020-4}}. (Genus ''Draco'', pp. 41, 86, 112, 279, 288). * {{cite book|author=Inger RF|author-link=Robert F. Inger|year=1983|title=Morphological and ecological variation in the flying lizards (Genus ''Draco'')|location=Chicago|publisher=Field Museum of Natural History. (Fieldiana Zoology, New Series, No. 18).|url=https://archive.org/details/morphologicaleco18inge}} 33 pp. * Linnaeus C (1758). ''Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata.'' Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Genus ''Draco'', p. 199). * {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Dragon |volume=8 |last=Phillips |first=Walter Alison |author-link=Walter Alison Phillips |pages=466–468 |short=1}}
* Read on [https://vastlyimportant.com/ vastlyimportant] {{Taxonbar|from=Q1142794}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Draco (Genus)}} Draco Category:Lizard genera Category:Gliding animals Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus