''Draco guentheri'', commonly known as Günther's flying lizard
[ is a species of agamid "flying dragon" endemic to the Philippines.
]
Geographic range
''D. guentheri'' is found on the islands of Basilan, Bongao, Jolo, Mindanao, Sanga-Sanga, Siasi, and Simunul.
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 ...
, ''guentheri'', is in honor of German- British zoologist Albert Gunther.[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Draco guentheri'', p. 110).]
Taxonomy
This species was originally described in 1885 by the Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger
George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...
, who named it ''Draco guentheri''.
This species is also notable for having been collected by the Philippine national hero Jose Rizal during his exile in Dapitan, Mindanao in 1893 and identified it as a new type of lizard in which he tentatively named, ''Draco dapitani''. Rizal sent specimens to Europe, to the German zoologist Benno Wandolleck. In 1900 Wandolleck, thinking Rizal's specimens represented a new species, described it and named it ''Draco rizali'', thereby creating a synonym. Rizal's specimens, subsequently, were destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in World War II.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 ...
, ''Draco volans reticulatus''. In 1993 Gaulke raised it to full species status. And most recently, in 2000, McGuire and Alcala once again recognized Boulenger's original ''Draco guentheri'' as a valid species.
References
Further reading
* Boulenger GA (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume I. Geckonidæ, Eublepharidæ, Uroplatidæ, Pygopodidæ, Agamidæ.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 436 pp. + Plates I- XXXII. (''Draco guentheri'', new species, pp. 257–258 + Plate XX, Figure 2).
*McGuire JA, Alcala AC (2000). "A Taxonomic Revision of the Flying Lizards (Iguania: Agamidae: ''Draco'') of the Philippine Islands, with a Description of a New Species". ''Herpetological Monographs'' 14: 81–138. (''Draco guentheri'', p. 100).
rizali
Reptiles of the Philippines
Endemic fauna of the Philippines
Fauna of Basilan
Fauna of Sulu
Fauna of Tawi-Tawi
Fauna of Mindanao
Reptiles described in 1885
Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger
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