Frilled lizard

Quality 0.50 · 0 views · Updated 2 months ago

Species of reptile

title: "Frilled lizard" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["agamidae", "agamid-lizards-of-australia", "agamid-lizards-of-new-guinea", "reptiles-of-the-northern-territory", "reptiles-of-queensland", "reptiles-of-western-australia", "reptiles-of-western-new-guinea", "reptiles-of-papua-new-guinea", "taxa-named-by-john-edward-gray", "reptiles-described-in-1825"] description: "Species of reptile" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frilled_lizard" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of reptile ::

Chlamydosaurus kingii — Gray in King, 1827 (nomen emendatum) | synonyms_ref =

The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii), also known commonly as the frilled agama, frillneck lizard, frill-necked lizard or frilled dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea and is the only member of the genus Chlamydosaurus. Its common names refer to the large frill around its neck, which usually stays folded against the lizard's body. The frilled lizard grows to 90 cm from head to tail tip and can weigh 600 g. Males are larger and more robust than females. The lizard's body is generally grey, brown, orangish-brown, or black in colour. The frills have red, orange, yellow, or white colours.

The frilled lizard is largely arboreal, spending most of its time in trees. Its diet consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates. It is more active during the wet season, when it spends more time near or on the ground, and is less observed during the dry season, during which it seeks shade in the branches of the upper canopy. It breeds in the late dry season and early wet season. The lizard uses its frill to scare off predators and display to other individuals. The species is considered to be of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Taxonomy

British zoologist John Edward Gray described the frilled lizard in 1825 as Clamydosaurus kingii. He used a specimen collected by botanist Allan Cunningham at Careening Bay, off north-western Australia, while part of an expedition conducted by Captain Phillip Parker King in . The generic name, Chlamydosaurus, is derived from the Ancient Greek chlamydo (χλαμύς), meaning "cloaked" or "mantled", and Latin saurus (sauros), meaning "lizard". The specific name, kingii, is a Latinised form of King. It is the only species classified in its genus.

The frilled lizard is classified in the family Agamidae and the subfamily Amphibolurinae. It split from its closest living relatives around 10 million years ago based on genetic evidence. A 2017 mitochondrial DNA analysis of the species across its range revealed three lineages demarcated by the Ord River and the southeast corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria (Carpentarian Gap). One lineage ranged across Queensland and southern New Guinea and is sister to one that ranged from western Queensland to the Ord River. The ancestor of these two split from a lineage that populates the Kimberley. Frilled lizards entered southern New Guinea possibly around 17,000 years ago during a glacial cycle, when sea levels were lower and a land bridge connected the island to Cape York. The study upholds C. kingii as one species with the different populations being "shallow allopatric clades".

The following cladogram is based on Pyron and colleagues (2013).

|1={{clade |1=Frilled lizard (Clamydosaurus kingii) [[File:Chlamydosaurus kingii.jpg|50 px]] |2={{clade |1=Gilbert's lashtail (Lophognathus gilberti) [[File:Lophognathus gilberti 1.jpg|50px]] |2={{clade |1=Jacky dragon (Amphibolurus muricatus) [[File:Tree Dragon444.jpg|50px]]

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Frill_anatomy.jpg" caption="Anatomy of the frill of ''Chlamydosaurus kingii''"] ::

The frilled lizard can reach a total length of around 90 cm and a head-body length of 27 cm, and weighs at least 600 g. It has a particularly large and wide head; a long neck to accommodate the frill; long legs and a tail that makes most of its total length. The species is sexually dimorphic, males being larger than females The corners of the frilled lizard's eyes are pointed and the rounded nostrils face away from each other and angle downward. Most of the lizard's scales are keeled, having a ridge down the centre. From the backbone to the sides, the scales alternate between small and large.

The distinctive frill is a flap of skin that extends from the head and neck and contains several folded ridges. When fully extended, the frill is disc-shaped and can reach over four times the length of the animal's torso in diameter, or around 30 cm across. When not extended, the frill wraps around the body, The frill is laterally symmetrical; the right and left sides are attached at the bottom in a V-shape, and cartilage-like connective tissue (Grey's cartilage) connects the top ends to each side of the head near the ear openings. The frill is supported by rod-like hyoid bones, and is spread out by movements of these bones, the lower jaw and Grey's cartilage. There is no evidence for other suggested functions, such as food storage, gliding or temperature regulation. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Le_Bugue_-Aquarium_du_Périgord_noir-Lézard_à_collerette-_001.jpg" caption="A frilled lizard in a reptile display (frill folded)"] ::

Frilled lizards vary between grey, brown, orangish-brown, and black dorsally, the underside being paler white or yellow. Males have a dark belly but a lighter chest. The underside and lateral sides of the species are sprinkled with dark brown markings that merge to create bands on the tail.

Distribution and habitat

The frilled lizard inhabits northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Its Australian range stretches from the Kimberley region of Western Australia east through the Top End of the Northern Territory to Queensland's Cape York Peninsula and nearby islands of Muralug, Badu, and Moa, and south to Brisbane. Frilled lizards also prefer areas with less vegetation on the ground, as they can then better spot prey from above.

Behaviour and ecology

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/frilly.jpg" caption="Frilled lizard in natural environment, showing camouflage"] ::

The frilled lizard is a diurnal (daytime) and arboreal species, Male lizards assert their boundaries with frill displays.

These lizards are more active during the wet season, when they select smaller trees and are more commonly seen near the ground; during the dry season, they use larger trees and are found at greater heights. Frilled lizards do not enter torpidity during the dry season, but they can greatly reduce their energy usage and metabolic rate in response to less food and water. Body temperatures can approach 40 C. When it gets hotter during day, they climb higher in the canopy for shade. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Frilled-lizard500.jpg" caption="Frilled lizard in threat display"] ::

Frilled lizards primarily feed on insects and other invertebrates, and very rarely take vertebrates. Prominent prey includes termites, ants and centipedes; termites are particularly important food during the dry season, and moth larvae become important during the wet season. Consumption of ants drops after early dry season fires but rises following fires later in the season. This species is a sit-and-wait predator: it watches for potential prey from a tree and, upon seeing it, climbs down and rushes towards it on two legs before descending on all four to grab and eat it. After feeding, it retreats back up a tree.

Frilled lizards face threats from birds of prey and larger lizards and snakes. There is at least one record of an individual dying of cryptosporidiosis.

Frilled lizards can breed during the late dry and early wet seasons. They can lay multiple clutches per season, and the number of eggs in a clutch can vary from four to over 20. The incubation period can last two to four months, Juvenile males also disperse further from their hatching area. The species reaches sexual maturity within two years; males live up to six years compared to four years for females.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the frilled lizard as of least concern, due to its abundance and wide range, but warns that its population may be locally declining in some areas. It is a popular species in the pet trade, which may threaten some wild populations. Most pet lizards appear to come from Indonesia, as export of them is banned in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Nevertheless, the Indonesian government themselves have allocated the frilled lizard as a protected species under the Article 20 of the Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation On Types of Protected Plants and Animals. Being difficult to breed in captivity, many presumed captive bred lizards are likely to have been taken from the wild. Frilled lizards may also be threatened by feral cats, though they do not appear to be significantly affected by the invasive cane toad.

Relationship with humans

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Chlamydosaurus_kingii_engraving_by_Mr._Curtis_1827.jpg" caption="Frilled lizard from ''Narrative of a Survey'' Volume 2, by [[Phillip Parker King]], 1827"] ::

The frilled lizard is considered to be among the most iconic Australian animals along with the kangaroo and koala. In the late 19th century, William Saville-Kent brought a live lizard to England where it was observed by fellow biologists. Another specimen was kept at a reptile display in Paris, as reptiles were becoming more popular in captivity.

Because of its unique appearance and behaviour, the creature has often been used in media. In Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Jurassic Park, the dinosaur Dilophosaurus was portrayed with a similar neck frill that rose when attacking. Its image has been used in the 1994 LGBT-themed film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The species has been featured on some Australian coins.

References

"''Agamidae'' Gray 1827 (squamates)".
(2017). "''Chlamydosaurus kingii ''".
{{NRDB species
Olsen, Penny. (2010). "Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia's Curious Animals". National Library of Australia.
Kent, William Saville. (2017). "The Naturalist in Australia". Chapman & Hall.
(1890). "Johnson's Univeral Cyclopædia A Scientific and Popular Treasury of Useful Knowledge · Volume 2". A. J. Johnson.
(2011). "The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles". Johns Hopkins University Press.
(2008). "Phylogeny of Australasian agamid lizards based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes: implications for morphological evolution and biogeography". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
(2017). "Phylogeographic structure across one of the largest intact tropical savannahs: Molecular and morphological analysis of Australia's iconic frilled lizard ''Chlamydosaurus kingii ''". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
(2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology.
(1998). "Passive body movement and gas exchange in the frilled lizard (''Chlamydosaurus kingii)'' and goanna (''Varanus gouldii)''". Journal of Experimental Biology.
Cogger, Harold G.. (2014). "Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia". CSIRO publishing.
(2005). "Shape of Western Australian dragon lizards (Agamidae)". Amphibia-Reptilia.
Swan, G.]] (2023). ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Sixth Edition''. Sydney: Reed New Holland. pp. 442–443. {{ISBN. 978-1-92554-671-2.
(2019). "Elastic instability during branchial ectoderm development causes folding of the ''Chlamydosaurus'' erectile frill". eLife.
Shine, R. (1990). "Function and evolution of the frill of the frillneck lizard, ''Chlamydosaurus kingii'' (Sauria: Agamidae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
(2019). "Red carotenoids and associated gene expression explain colour variation in frillneck lizards". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
(2020). "Uncovering the function of an enigmatic display: antipredator behaviour in the iconic Australian frillneck lizard". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
(1996). "Diet and habitat use of frillneck lizards in a seasonal tropical environment". Oecologia.
(1996). "Physiological ecology of frillneck lizards in a seasonal tropical environment". Oecologia.
(1994). "Seasonal energetics and water turnover of the frillneck lizard, ''Chlamydosaurus kingii'', in the wet-dry tropics of Australia". Herpetologica.
(1998). "Gastric cryptosporidiosis in a wild frilled lizard from Australia". Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
(2014). "Population demography of frillneck lizards (''Chlamydosaurus kingii'', Gray 1825) in the wet-dry tropics of Australia". Austral Ecology.
(2008). "Population genetic structure, gene flow and sex-biased dispersal in frillneck lizards (''Chlamydosaurus kingii'')". Molecular Ecology.
(28 December 2018). "''Peraturan Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Nomor P.106/Menlhk/Setjen/Kum.1/12/2018 tentang Perubahan Kedua Atas Peraturan Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Nomor P.20/Menlhk/Setjen/Kum.1/6/2018 tentang Jenis Tumbuhan dan Satwa Yang Dilindungi ''". [[Ministry of Environment and Forestry]].
(2011). "Detecting the impact of invasive species on native fauna: Cane toads (''Bufo marinus''), frillneck lizards (''Chlamydosaurus kingii)'' and the importance of spatial replication". Austral Ecology.
Paige, Linda Rohrer. (2016). "Drag queens, thorny devils and frilled lizards: "queerness" takes to the outback in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::