Boyd's Forest Dragon

About the Boyd's Forest Dragon

Boyd's forest dragon (Lophosaurus boydii) is a species of arboreal lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to rainforests and their margins in the Wet Tropics region of northern Queensland, Australia. It is the larger of the two species of Lophosaurus found in Australia. Another species, the southern angle-headed dragon, L. spinipes, is found in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.

The generic name Lophosaurus stands for "crested lizard", from the Greek lophos for "crest", and saurus for "lizard". The specific name, boydii, is a reference to English-born John Archibald Boyd (1846–1926), who lived in Fiji from 1865 to 1882 and then on a sugar plantation at Ingham, Queensland, and collected specimens for the Australian Museum. The binomial authority is William John Macleay, who provided the original description of the species in 1884. Additionally, the Kuku Yalanji people of North Queensland named this lizard "Jalbil" which refers not only to this species, but also to the mythological creature who split Snapper Island away from the mainland.

The species Lophosaurus boydii is restricted to rainforests and their... Wikipedia →