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Acanthosaura

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(Redirected from Mountain Horned Dragon)

Acanthosaura
Acanthosaura sp.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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, in the family Agamidae. The common name "pricklenape" refers to a row of dorsal spines which runs down the back of the neck. They are arboreal lizards found in Southeast Asia. They are medium-sized, their total length (including tail) ranging from about 7.5 to 15 in (19 to 38 cm), depending on species and individual. As the common name "mountain horned dragons" implies, they tend to prefer higher elevation areas with dense vegetation.

Diet

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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 (3.3 to 6.6 ft) 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

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Females of the genus Acanthosaura 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

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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

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Image Scientific Name Common Name Distribution
Acanthosaura armata (Gray, 1827) armored pricklenape, peninsular horned tree lizard Burma, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
Acanthosaura aurantiacrista Trivalairat, Kunya, Chanhome, Sumontha, Vasaruchapong, Chomngam, Chiangkul, 2020 Thailand
Acanthosaura bintangensis Wood, J. Grismer, L. Grismer, Ahmad, Onn & Bauer, 2009 Bukit Larut Mountain horned agamid, Bintang horned tree lizard Perak, Peninsular Malaysia
Acanthosaura brachypoda Ananjeva, Orlov, Nguyen T.T. & Ryabov, 2011 Vietnam
Acanthosaura capra (Günther, 1861) green pricklenape Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
Acanthosaura cardamomensis Wood, J. Grismer, L. Grismer, Neang, Chav & Holden, 2010[2] western Cambodia, eastern Thailand
Acanthosaura coronata Günther, 1861 crowned spiny lizard Vietnam
Acanthosaura crucigera (Boulenger, 1885) Boulenger's pricklenape, masked horned tree lizard Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam
Acanthosaura lepidogaster (Cuvier, 1829) brown pricklenape Burma, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vietnam
Acanthosaura liui Liu, Hou, Mo ,& Rao, 2020 China
Acanthosaura longicaudata Liu, Rao, Hou, Orlov, Ananjeva, & Zhang, 2022 long-tailed horned tree lizard, long-tailed horned agamid China
Acanthosaura meridiona Trivalairat, Sumontha, Kunya, & Chiangkul, 2022 Thailand
Acanthosaura murphyi L.T. Nguyen, Do, Hoang, T.T. Nguyen, McCormack, T.Q. Nguyen, Orlov, V.D.H. Nguyen & S.N. Nguyen, 2018 Central Vietnam[3]
Acanthosaura nataliae Orlov, Q.T. Nguyen & V.S. Nguyen, 2006 Vietnam
Acanthosaura phongdienensis S.N. Nguyen, Jin, Vo, L.T. Nguyen, Zhou, Che, Murphy, & Zhang, 2019 Vietnam
Acanthosaura phuketensis Pauwels, Sumontha, Kunya, Nitikul, Samphanthamit, Wood & L. Grismer, 2015 Phuket horned tree agamid southwestern Thailand
Acanthosaura prasina Ananjeva, Ermakov, Nguyen, Nguyen, Murphy, Lukonina, Orlov, 2020 Vietnam
Acanthosaura rubrilabris Liu, Rao, Hou, Orlov, Ananjeva, & Zhang, 2022 red-lipped horned tree lizard, red-lipped horned agamid China
Acanthosaura titiwangsaensis Wood, J. Grismer, L. Grismer, Ahmad, Onn & Bauer, 2009 Malayan Mountain horned agamid, Titiwangsa horned tree lizard Fraser's Hill and Cameron Highlands, Pahang, and Peninsular Malaysia
Acanthosaura tongbiguanensis Liu & Rao, 2019 China
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References

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  1. ^ "Captive care of mountain horned dragons". Archived from the original on 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2005-04-30.
  2. ^ Wood, Perry L. Jr; Grismer, L. Lee; Grismer, Jesse L.; Neang, Thy; Chav, Thou; Holden, Jeremy (2010). "A new cryptic species of Acanthosaura Gray, 1831 (Squamata: Agamidae) from Thailand and Cambodia" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2488: 22–38. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2488.1.2. (Acanthosaura cardamomensis, new species).
  3. ^ Nguyen, Luan Thanh; Do, Dang Trong; Hoang, Ha Van; Nguyen, Thang Tai; McCormack, Timothy E. M.; Nguyen, Truong Quang; Orlov, Nikolai L. [in French]; Nguyen, Vu Dang Hoang; Nguyen, Sang Ngoc (2018). "A New Species of the Genus Acanthosaura Gray, 1831 (Reptilia: Agamidae) from Central Vietnam". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 25 (4): 259–274. doi:10.30906/1026-2296-2018-25-4-259-274. Retrieved 11 February 2019. (Acanthosaura murphyi, new species).