Birds from Queensland.

Yes! It’s a real DRAGON.

Water Dragons are Australia's largest Agamid (Dragon) Lizard. Males can attain a length of up to 100cm, however about 80% of this length is tail. The water dragon is scientifically known as Physignathus lesueurii. Two subspecies are recognised by most herpetologists. These are the Eastern Water Dragon P.l.lesueurii and the Gippsland Water Dragon P.l.howittii. The only real difference is colour and geographic location. Eastern Water Dragons tend to be olive green to grey above with black or black and white cross-bands along the body. These may be highly visible or very dull. A black band extends horizontally from the eye to the throat. Combinations of red, yellow and aqua can also be seen on the head. Males get a very red underside that gets brighter as the lizards reach maturity. On the other hand, Gippsland Water Dragons tend to be olive green to aqua blue all over with bright or dull black cross-bands. The males have wonderfully colourful throats normally striped with green, yellow and blue. The black stripe from the eye to the throat is absent in Gippsland Water Dragons. The tail of both sub-species is strongly banded.

If and when they bight you, the wound will fester for many months possibly years.
So the idea is, don’t get bitten. ;o)

I will end this Thread here with a Picture of the Dragon.
This is just before he jumped into my Dam.
Here is a link to my new Thread: "Birds from Queensland part 2."
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1163646/


This message was edited Mar 11, 2011 9:52 PM