''Hydrosaurus'', commonly known as the sailfin dragons or sailfin lizards, is a genus in the family
Agamidae
Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards.
Overview
phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...
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[''Hydrosaurus'']
The Reptile Database These relatively large lizards are named after the sail-like structure on their tails. They are native to
Indonesia (4 species) and the
Philippines (1 species) where they are generally found near water, such as rivers and
mangrove.
[Cameron D. Siler, Andrés Lira-Noriega, Rafe M. Brown (2014). Conservation genetics of Australasian sailfin lizards: Flagship species threatened by coastal development and insufficient protected area coverage. Biological Conservation 169: 100–108. ] Sailfin lizards are
semiaquatic and able to run short distances across water using both their feet and tail for support,
similar to the basilisks.
[Jackman Bauer (2008). Global diversity of lizards in freshwater (Reptilia: Lacertilia). Hydrobiologia 595(1): 581–586.] They are threatened by both
habitat loss and overcollection for the wild animal trade.
[
They are the only members of the subfamily Hydrosaurinae.
]
Species
There are currently five valid species according to the Reptile Database,
References
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''Hydrosaurus''
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Lizard genera
Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup
{{agamidae-stub