Philippine Sailfin Lizard

Open encyclopedia reference

Hydrosaurus pustulatus, commonly known as the Philippine sailfin lizard or the Philippine sailfin dragon, is a large semiaquatic agamid lizard endemic to all of the major island groups of the Philippines, with the exception of the Palawan islands. Like other sailfin lizards, they are characterized by large, sail-like dorsal crests on their tails. They can grow to a maximum length around 3 to 4 ft (0.91 to 1.22 m). They are strong swimmers, and smaller juvenile lizards can run briefly on the water surface. They inhabit areas of heavy vegetation near coastlines and low-lying rivers, particularly in mangrove forests. They are also known locally as layagan or balubid in Tagalog and ibid in the Visayan languages, among other names.

H. pustulatus is a protected species in the Philippines, as it is a target for the international exotic pet trade for their unique dorsal crests and bright coloration. The heavy deforestation of mangrove habitats in the last few decades is also a concern to their conservation.

Wikipedia contributors, Philippine sailfin lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:25:06.772246+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Hydrosaurus pustulatus (Eschscholtz, 1829)

Name authority

(Eschscholtz, 1829)

Common name

Philippine Sailfin Lizard

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Agamidae

Genus

Hydrosaurus

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderIguania
11. familyAgamidae
12. subfamilyHydrosaurinae
13. genusHydrosaurus
14. speciesHydrosaurus pustulatus (Eschscholtz, 1829)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Hydrosaurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 456 records assigned to Agamidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Hydrosaurus&species=pustulatus 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:3N9VG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.