Hydrosaurus
Genus of lizards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hydrosaurus, commonly known as the sailfin dragons or sailfin lizards, is a genus in the family Agamidae.[2] These relatively large lizards are named after the sail-like structure on their tails. They are native to Indonesia (four species) and the Philippines (one species), where they are generally found near water, such as rivers and mangrove swamps.[3] Sailfin lizards are semiaquatic and able to run short distances across water using both their feet and tail for support, similar to the basilisks.[4] They are threatened by both habitat loss and overcollection for the wild-animal trade.[3]
| Hydrosaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Hydrosaurus amboinensis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Agamidae |
| Subfamily: | Hydrosaurinae Kaup, 1828 |
| Genus: | Hydrosaurus Kaup, 1828[1] |
| Type species | |
| Hydrosaurus amboinensis | |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
In the 19th century, the genus was called Lophura, but in 1903, Poche pointed out that the name was preoccupied by a genus of pheasants.[5] Since Günther in 1873, the Sulawesi populations were considered to belong to H. amboinensis; Denzer et al. in 2020 resurrected H. celebensis and H. microlophus, increasing the number of species from three to five.[5]
They are the only members of the subfamily Hydrosaurinae.
Species
Currently, five species are valid according to the Reptile Database,[2][3][5]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
,_Ambon.png) | Hydrosaurus amboinensis (Schlosser, 1768) | Moluccan sailfin lizard or Amboina sail-finned lizard, soa-soa water lizard | Western New Guinea, Ambon/Amboina Island and Ceram Island (Indonesia) |
 | Hydrosaurus celebensis (Peters, 1872) | Sulawesi black sailfin lizard | Indonesia (Sulawesi) |
 | Hydrosaurus microlophus (Bleeker, 1860) | Indonesian giant sailfin dragon,
Makassar sailfin lizard, or Sulawesi giant sailfin dragon |
Indonesia (Sulawesi) |
 | Hydrosaurus pustulatus (Eschsholtz, 1829) | Philippine sailfin lizard, layagan, balubid, or ibid[6][7] | Philippine archipelago (except Palawan)[8] |
 | Hydrosaurus weberi Barbour, 1911 | Weber's sailfin lizard | Ternate Island, North Maluku (Indonesia)
Halmahera Island, North Maluku (Indonesia) |
