Australian Water Dragon
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[Photo] Eastern Water Dragon (Physignathus lesueurii) - at the Australian National Botanic Gardens 2005

The Australian Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii, is an arboreal agamid species native to Eastern Australia from Victoria north to Queensland, there is also a small population in the South-East coast of the State of South Australia.

Long powerful limbs built for swimming with a prominent nuchal and vertebral crest.

There are two subspecies: P. l. lesuerurii (Eastern Water Dragon) and P. l. howitti (Gippsland Water Dragon). P. l. lesuerurii possesses a dark band behind its eye; P. 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 color with black bands running down back, tail and legs.

Including their tails, which comprise about two-thirds of their total length, adult females grow to about 2 feet long while adult males can grow slightly longer than 3 feet. Males show bolder coloration with red chests and larger heads than females. These reptiles go through a hibernating phase in winter months, which is critical for their reproductive cycle.

The Australian Water Dragon is the only species of the genus Physignathus in Australia, the other species, Physignathus cocincinus, lives in South-East Asia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Water_Dragon

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