Weber's sailfin lizard or Halmahera sailfin dragon (''Hydrosaurus weberi''), is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...
of
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Agamidae
Agamidae is a 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
Phylogenetically, they may be sister to the ...
. The species is
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 els ...
to
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
Geographic range
''H. weberi'' is only found on
Halmahera
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
H ...
and
Ternate
Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off th ...
Islands of
Maluku.
[ www.reptile-database.org]
Longevity
''H. weberi'' has a life-span of between 10 and 15 years.
Description
''H. weberi'' is the smallest of the three recognized species of ''
Hydrosaurus
''Hydrosaurus'', commonly known as the sailfin dragons or sailfin lizards, is a genus in the family Agamidae.[oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a ...]
.
[
]
Etymology
The specific name, ''weberi'', is in honor of German-Dutch zoologist Max Wilhelm Carl Weber van Bosse.[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Hydrosaurus weberi'', p. 280).]
References
External links
Photos of ''Hydrosaurus weberi'' (French)
Further reading
* Barbour T (1911). "New Lizards and a New Toad from the Dutch East Indies, with Notes on Other Species". ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 24: 15–22. (''Hydrosaurus weberi'', new species, pp. 20–21).
* Barts M, Wilms T (2003). "''Die Agamen der Welt''". ''Draco'' 4 (14): 4-23. (in German).
* Colwell GJ (1993). "''Hydrosaurus weberi'' (Weber's sail-fin dragon)". ''Morphology Herpetological Review'' 24 (4): 150.
* de Rooij N (1915). ''The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. I. Lacertilia, Chelonia, Emydosauria''. Leiden: E. J. Brill. xiv + 384 pp.
*Gábris J (2003). "''Zur Haltung von philippinischen Segelechsen'' (Hydrosaurus pustulatus)". ''Draco'' 4 (14): 24–33. (in German).
* Werning H (2002). ''Wasseragamen und Segelechsen''. Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag. 127 pp. (in German). eview in ''Sauria'' 26 (4): 17.
*Werning H (2004). "''Bibliographie der Gattungen'' Physignathus, Lophognathus ''und'' Hydrosaurus". ''Iguana Rundschreiben'' 17 (2): 18–31. (in German).
Hydrosaurus
Reptiles described in 1911
Taxa named by Thomas Barbour
{{Agamidae-stub