Draco is a genus of agamid lizards that also are known as the Flying Dragons. The ribs and their connecting membrane may be extended to create a wing, the hindlimbs are flattened and wing-like in cross-section, and a small set of flaps on the neck serve as a horizontal stabilizers. Draco are arboreal insectivores. While not capable of powered flight they often obtain lift in the course of their gliding flights. Glides as long as 60m have been recorded, over which the animal loses only 10m in height, which is quite some distance, considering that one of these lizards is only around 20 cm long.^[1]

The only time a flying lizard ventures to the ground is when a female is ready to lay her eggs. She descends the tree she is on and makes a nest hole by forcing her head into the soil. She then lays 2-5 eggs before filling the hole. She guards the eggs for approximately 24 hours, but then leaves and has nothing more to do with her offspring.^[1]

Linnaeus derived the name of this genus from the Latin term for mythological dragons.

Classification of genus Draco affinis

Draco biaro

Draco bimaculatus

Draco blanfordii

Draco caerulhians

Draco cornutus

Draco cristatellus

Draco cyanopterus

Draco dussumieri

Draco fimbriatus

Draco guentheri

Draco haematopogon

Draco indochinensis

Draco jareckii

Draco lineatus

Draco maculatus

Draco maximus

Draco melanopogon

Draco mindanensis

Draco norvillii

Draco obscurus

Draco ornatus

Draco palawanensis

Draco quadrasi

Draco quinquefasciatus

Draco reticulatus

Draco rizali

Draco spilopterus

Draco sumatranus

Draco taeniopterus

Draco volans

Gliding

The lizards are well known for their 'display structures' and ability to glide long distances using their wing-like, patagial membranes supported by elongated thoracic ribs to generate lift forces.^[2]

See also

Wikispecies has information related to: Draco

• Flying and gliding animals

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Piper, Ross (2007), Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press.
2. ^ Herre, Albert W. (1958). "On the Gliding of Flying Lizards, Genus Draco". Copeia 1958 (4): 338–339. JSTOR 1439979. 

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Draco

• Inger, Robert F (1983). Morphological and ecological variation in the flying lizards (Genus Draco). Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History. http://www.archive.org/details/morphologicaleco18inge. 
• McGuire, J. A.; Dudley, R. (2011). "The Biology of Gliding in Flying Lizards (Genus Draco) and their Fossil and Extant Analogs". Integrative and Comparative Biology 51 (6): 983–90. doi:10.1093/icb/icr090. PMID 21798987.