
Species of Thailand
Spotted flying dragon
Thai: กิ้งก่าบินปีกส้ม
Binomial name: Draco maculatus, John Edward Gray, 1845
Draco maculatus, commonly known as the spotted flying dragon, is a species of agamid flying lizard endemic to Southeast Asia. It is capable of gliding from tree to tree.
Description
Head small; snout a little longer than the diameter of the orbit; nostril lateral, directed outwards; tympanum scaly. Upper head-scales unequal, strongly keeled; a compressed prominent scale on the posterior part of the superciliary region; 7 to 11 upper labials. The male's gular appendage very large, always much longer than the head, and frequently twice as long; female also with a well-developed but smaller gular sac. Male with a very small nuchal crest. Dorsal scales but little larger than the ventrals, irregular, smooth or very feebly keeled; on each side of the back a series of large trihedral keeled distant scales. The fore limb stretched forwards reaches beyond the tip of the snout; the adpressed hind limb reaches a little beyond the elbow of the adpressed fore limb, or to the axilla. Greyish above, with more or less distinct darker markings; a more or less distinct darker interorbital spot; wing-membranes above with numerous small round black spots, which are seldom confluent, beneath immaculate or with a few black spots; a blue spot on each side of the base of the gular appendage.
From snout to vent length, 82 mm; tail, 115 mm.
Subspecies
The following four subspecies (or races) are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies:
- Draco maculatus divergens Taylor, 1934: NW Thailand; type locality = "Chiang Mai, N Siam"; restricted to "Doi Suthep Mountain" by Taylor, 1963.
- Draco maculatus haasei Boettger, 1893: E Thailand, Cambodia, S Vietnam; type locality = "Chantaboon, Siam".
- Draco maculatus maculatus (Gray, 1845)
- Draco maculatus whiteheadi Boulenger, 1900: N Vietnam, Hainan; type locality = "Five-finger Mountains, interior of Hainan".
Geographic range
From Assam and Yunnan to Singapore.
Southern China (Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Tibet), India (E. Himalayas to Assam), Bangladesh (Satchari National Park, Sylhet), Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and W. Malaysia.
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Site notes
Few known location for subspecies;
Huai Kha Khaeng: D. m. maculatus
Khao Yai: D. m. haasei, one subspecies of D. m. whiteheadi has been seen by Parinya Pawangkhanant
Scientific classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Suborder
- Lacertilia
- Family
- Agamidae
- Genus
- Draco
- Species
- Draco maculatus
Common names
- German: Gefleckter Flugdrache
- English:
- Spotted flying dragon
- Spotted gliding lizard
- Thai: กิ้งก่าบินปีกส้ม
Subspecies
Draco maculatus divergens, Edward Harrison Taylor, 1934
Range: Northwest Thailand, Restricted to Doi Suthep
Draco maculatus haasei, Oskar Boettger, 1893
Range: Eeast Thailand, Cambodia, South Vietnam
Draco maculatus maculatus, John Edward Gray, 1845
Range: Tibet, South China, India, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and West Malaysia
Draco maculatus whiteheadi, George Albert Boulenger, 1900
Range: North Vietnam, Hainan
Synonyms
- Draco cf. maculatus, Thomas Ziegler et al. (2015)
- Draco maculatus divergens, Nguyen Van Sang et al. (2009)
- Draco maculatus haasei, Nguyen Van Sang et al. (2009)
- Draco maculatus maculatus, Nguyen Van Sang et al. (2009)
- Draco maculatus whiteheadi, Nguyen Van Sang et al. (2009)
- Draco maculatus haasii, Jakob Hallermann (2005)
- Draco maculatus, Jimmy Adair McGuire & Kiew Bong Heang (2001)
- Draco maculatus, Merel J. Cox et al. (1998)
- Draco maculatus, Ulrich Manthey & Wolfgang Grossmann (1997)
- Draco maculatus divergens, Kees Musters (1983)
- Draco maculatus haasei, Kees Musters (1983)
- Draco maculatus maculatus, Kees Musters (1983)
- Draco maculatus whiteheadi, Kees Musters (1983)
- Draco maculatus, Heinz Wermuth (1967)
- Draco maculatus divergens, Heinz Wermuth (1967)
- Draco maculatus haasei, Heinz Wermuth (1967)
- Draco maculatus maculatus, Heinz Wermuth (1967)
- Draco whiteheadi, Colbert (1967)
- Draco maculatus, Edward Harrison Taylor (1963)
- Draco maculatus divergens, Edward Harrison Taylor (1963)
- Draco maculatus haasei, Edward Harrison Taylor (1963)
- Draco maculatus maculatus, Edward Harrison Taylor (1963)
- Draco maculatus whiteheadi, Edward Harrison Taylor (1963)
- Draco maculatus maculatus, Emil Hans Willi Hennig (1936)
- Draco maculatus whiteheadi, Emil Hans Willi Hennig (1936)
- Draco maculatus, Malcolm Arthur Smith (1935)
- Draco divergens, Edward Harrison Taylor (1934)
- Draco maculatus divergens, Edward Harrison Taylor (1934)
- Draco maculatus haasei, Malcolm Arthur Smith & Cecil Boden Kloss (1915)
- Draco maculatus haasi, Malcolm Arthur Smith & Cecil Boden Kloss (1915)
- Draco whiteheadi, Thomas Barbour (1909)
- Draco maculatus whiteheadi, George Albert Boulenger (1900)
- Draco whiteheadi, George Albert Boulenger (1899)
- Draco hasei, George Albert Boulenger (1894)
- Draco haasei, Oskar Boettger (1893)
- Draco maculatus haasei, Oskar Boettger (1893)
- Draco maculatus, George Albert Boulenger (1885)
- Dracunculus maculatus, Albert Charles Lewis Günther (1861)
- Draco maculatus, Theodore Edward Cantor (1847)
- Dracunculus maculatus, John Edward Gray (1845)
- Draco maculatus maculatus, John Edward Gray (1845)

- Doi Inthanon National Park
- Doi Phu Kha National Park
- Doi Suthep-Pui National Park
- Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary
- Kaeng Krachan District, Phetchaburi
- Kaeng Krachan National Park
- Khao Sok National Park
- Khao Yai National Park
- Ko Chang District, Trat
- Ko Samui District, Surat Thani
- Mu Ko Lanta National Park
- Mueang Krabi District, Krabi
- Sakaerat Environmental Research Station
- Thalang District, Phuket
Range map of Draco maculatus in Thailand
Important note; our range maps are based on limited data we have collected. The data is not necessarily accurate or complete.
Special thanks to Ton Smits, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Ian Dugdale and many others for their contribution for range data.
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