Draco is a genus of agamid lizards that are also known as flying lizards, flying dragons or gliding lizards. These lizards are capable of gliding flight; their ribs and their connecting membrane may be extended to create "wings", the hindlimbs are flattened and wing-like in cross-section, and a flap on the neck serves as a horizontal stabilizer and are sometimes used in warning to others. Draco are arborealinsectivores. While not capable of powered flight they often obtain lift in the course of their gliding flights. Glides as long as have been recorded, over which the animal loses only in height, which is quite some distance, considering that one lizard is only around in total length, tail included. They are found in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and are fairly common in forests, areca gardens, teak plantations and shrub jungle.
Etymology
derived the name of this genus from the Latin term for mythological dragons.
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. The India flying lizard is capable of gliding from tree to tree found in the Western Ghats and hill forests of southern India. The flying dragon lizard avoids danger by opening two large winglike flaps of skin and steers, brakes with its tail.
Nota bene: a binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Draco.
Reproduction
The only time a female flying lizard ventures to the ground is when she 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 and guards the eggs for approximately 24 hours, but then leaves and has nothing more to do with her offspring.
In fiction
Draco dussumieri features prominently in Poornachandra Tejaswi's KannadanovelCarvalho. In this story, middle aged scientist Carvalho, searches for this flying lizard in the forests of the Western Ghats in the Indian state of Karnataka, and finally the lizard flies down a steep cliff off thick forest. The titular monster from Toho's 1958 film "Varan the Unbelievable" is based on that of a Draco lizard.
