''Draco norvillii'', also known as Norvill's flying lizard, is

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of agamid

flying lizard ''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 an enlarged set ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This species is capable of gliding from tree to tree, and has been recorded gliding up to . It feeds on insects and other small invertebrates.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''norvillii'', is in honor F.H. Norville who was the collector of the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

Taxonomy

Musters (1983) examined specimens of ''D. norvillii'' but was not able to examine the type. He opines that this lizard is a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''

Draco blanfordii ''Draco blanfordii'', commonly known as Blanford's flying dragon, Blanford’s flying lizard, or Blanford's gliding lizard, is a species of "flying" lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Asia, and is capable of gliding from t ...

''. This view has not been endorsed in McGuire & Heang's (2001) study on the phylogenetic systematics of Southeast Asian flying lizards (Iguania: Agamidae: ''Draco'').

Geographic range

''Draco norvillii'' has been recorded from

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

, and

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

in NE India. A rare and endangered species of lizard, it was described by Alcock and named after the collector of the type (F. H. Norvill) of Doom Dooma, Upper Assam (now Arunachal Pradesh). The type locality may be considered restricted to "North-eastern India, possibly Doom Dooma (27.57°N 95.57°E), Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India". ''D. norvillii'' was recently rediscovered after 118 years in the Jeypore Reserve Forest by Mazedul Islam and Professor Prasanta Kumar Saikia of the Animal Ecology and Wildlife Biology Laboratory of the Zoology Department,

Gauhati University Gauhati University, also known as GU, is a collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly. It is the oldest ...

in 2012. Two lizards were recorded.

Description

Two individuals of ''D. norvillii'', a female and juvenile, were encountered in Jeypore Reserve Forest in 2012 during a survey by biologists from Gauhati University. Islam & Saikia describe the specimens as follows : * Head: Broader than its length. Tympanum partially scaled over. The nostrils are inclined towards the vertical. Nine supralabial scales. * Body: Grayish above. Middle portion of dorsal part barred with light transverse lines. The neck and head regions were with greenish markings. The tail was with alternate white and black bands. * Throat: The base of the gular pouch was scarlet in colour. Gular appendage of female is yellow in colour and shorter than the head in length. *

Patagium The patagium (plural: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flight. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, birds, some dromaeosaurs ...

: Female - lower half red. Upper half black. Stippled with white and yellow broken lines and spots. Supported by 5 ribs on each side. Greyish upper side and orange lower half in juveniles. * Belly: Yellow. No caudal crest present. Tail denticulated towards latter side. * Hind limbs: Possessing thorny scutes. * Measurements : ** Length

Snout to Vent A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is c ...

: ** Length Tail: ** Distance between the armpit to groin:

Etymology

Taxonomy

Geographic range

Description

References

Further reading