NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Southern Flying Lizard
Draco dussumieri Duméril & Bibron, 1837
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Draco dussumieri, also known commonly as the Indian flying lizard, the southern flying lizard, and the Western Ghats flying lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is capable of gliding from tree to tree. It is found principally in the Western Ghats and some other hill forests of Southern India. It is almost completely arboreal, found on trees in forests and adjoining palm plantations where it climbs trees to forage for insects and glides to adjoining trees by expanding the patagium, loose skin on the sides of the body which is supported by elongated ribs to act as wings. The skin on the sides of the neck is also extended to the sides using the hyoid bones of the tongue as support. During the breeding season males maintain small territories which they defend from other males while courting females. The male has a more colourful patagium than the female, and it prominently extends its yellow dewlap forward in display.
Wikipedia contributors, Draco dussumieri; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:09:48.262061+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Draco dussumieri Duméril & Bibron, 1837
- Name authority
- Duméril & Bibron, 1837
- Common name
- Southern Flying Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Agamidae
- Genus
- Draco
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderIguania
- familyAgamidae
- subfamilyDraconinae
- genusDraco
- speciesDraco dussumieri Duméril & Bibron, 1837
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Draco. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore Flying DragonDraco abbreviatus Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lazell’s Flying DragonDraco biaro Lazell, 1987 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Draco boschmai Hennig, 1936 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Draco caerulhians Lazell, 1992 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Crested Flying DragonDraco cristatellus Günther, 1872 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Guenther's Flying LizardDraco guentheri Boulenger, 1885 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Draco jareckii Lazell, 1992 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Spotted Flying DragonDraco maculatus (Gray, 1845) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Giant Gliding LizardDraco maximus Boulenger, 1893 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mindanao Flying LizardDraco mindanensis Stejneger, 1908 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dusky Gliding LizardDraco obscurus Boulenger, 1887 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| White-spotted Flying LizardDraco ornatus (Gray, 1845) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Draco duvaucelii Fitzinger Fitzinger | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Draco&species=dussumieri Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:37K4W. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.