Acanthosaura

Acanthosaura

Acanthosaura sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Agamidae
Subfamily:	Draconinae
Genus:	Acanthosaura Gray, 1831

Acanthosaura is a genus of lizards commonly known as mountain horned dragons, or pricklenape agamas. They are so named because of a row of dorsal spines which runs down the back of their necks. They are arboreal lizards found in Southeast Asia. They are medium-sized, ranging from about 7.5 to 15 inches in length, depending on species and individual. They tend to prefer higher elevation areas with dense vegetation.

Diet

Mountain horned dragons are insectivorous, consuming only live food. Common foods in captivity include crickets, earthworms, silkworms, mealworms, moths, roaches, wax worms, and grasshoppers. They require a variety in diet and will often refuse food when offered in excessive redundancy.

Typical Acanthosaura feeding behavior is a sit-and-wait style. They will perch 1 to 2 m off the ground until they spot their prey, which is often down on the ground. A display of aerobatics is not uncommon from Acanthosaura species when hunting food. They will eat and hunt fish, but most will not submerge their heads to catch a meal.

Reproduction

Females lay their first clutch of eggs about four months after mating. They may lay up to four clutches total per year, separated by a month or two.

In captivity

Mountain horned dragons are popular pets, and readily available in the exotic pet trade. A. capra is considered the hardiest and most easily kept species of the genus, and is the most common species found for sale in the United States.^[1] While not considered to be difficult to breed in captivity, most specimens available are wild caught. However due to captive breeding, more and more captive bred lizards are available

Species

Acanthosaura armata (Gray, 1827) – armored pricklenape – China, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia
Acanthosaura bintangensis Wood, J. Grismer, L. Grismer, Ahmad, Onn & Bauer, 2009 – Perak, Peninsular Malaysia
Acanthosaura brachypoda Ananjeva, Orlov, Nguyen, & Ryabov, 2011 – Vietnam
Acanthosaura capra (Günther, 1861) – green pricklenape – Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam
Acanthosaura cardamomensis Wood, J. Grismer, L. Grismer, Neang, Chav & Holden, 2010^[2] – eastern Thailand and western Cambodia
Acanthosaura coronata Günther, 1861 – Vietnam
Acanthosaura crucigera (Boulenger, 1885) – Boulenger's pricklenape – Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia
Acanthosaura lepidogaster (Cuvier, 1829) – brown pricklenape – Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, and China
Acanthosaura nataliae Orlov, Truong & Sang, 2006 – Vietnam
Acanthosaura phuketensis Pauwels, Sumontha, Kunya, Nitikul, Samphanthamit, Wood & L. Grismer, 2015 – southwestern Thailand
Acanthosaura titiwangsaensis Wood, J. Grismer, L. Grismer, Ahmad, Onn & Bauer, 2009 – Fraser's Hill and Cameron Highlands, Pahang, and Peninsular Malaysia

Gallery

Acanthosaura capra at Chester Zoo]]
Acanthosaura phuketensis
Acanthosaura phuketensis (juvenile)

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.