NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Taiwan Japalure
Diploderma swinhonis (Günther, 1864)
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.
A lizard in Taroko Canyon, Taiwan, Japalura swinhonis
J. Patrick Fischer · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Diploderma swinhonis, also known commonly as the Taiwan japalure, Swinhoe's japalure, Swinhoe's lizard, and Swinhoe's tree lizard (Chinese: 斯文豪氏攀蜥), is a species of draconid lizard native to Taiwan. It is also an invasive alien species in Japan, after likely being introduced from Taiwan. A foraging ambush predator, this lizard preys primarily on arthropods and remains at the bottom of forests. The male D. swinhonis is physically distinct from the female, with its body size being much larger and having a yellow stripe.
Wikipedia contributors, Diploderma swinhonis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:50:30.712320+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Diploderma swinhonis (Günther, 1864)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1864)
- Common name
- Taiwan Japalure
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Agamidae
- Genus
- Diploderma
- 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
- genusDiploderma
- speciesDiploderma swinhonis (Günther, 1864)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Diploderma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| JapalureDiploderma chapaense (Bourret, 1937) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dymond's JapalureDiploderma dymondi (Boulenger, 1906) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Banded japalureDiploderma fasciatum (Mertens, 1926) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Szechwan japalureDiploderma flaviceps (Barbour & Dunn, 1919) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Emerald Mountain DragonDiploderma iadinum (Wang, Jiang, Siler & Che, 2016) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ota's JapalureDiploderma makii (Ota, 1989) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yunnan japalureDiploderma yunnanense (Anderson, 1878) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Diploderma batangense (Li, Deng, WU & Wang, 2001) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Diploderma brevicauda (Manthey, Denzer, Hou & Wang, 2012) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Narrow-striped Mountain DragonDiploderma angustelinea Wang, Ren, Wu, Che & Siler, 2020 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aorun Mountain DragonDiploderma aorun Wang, Jiang, Zheng, Xie, Che & Siler, 2020 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yellow-lipped Mountain DragonDiploderma flavilabre Wang, Che & Siler, 2020 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Japalura swinhonis Günther, 1864 Günther, 1864 | synonym |
| Japalura swinhonis formosensis Liang & Wang, 1976 Liang & Wang, 1976 | synonym |
| Japalura swinhonis mitsukurii Van Denburgh, 1912 Van Denburgh, 1912 | synonym |
| Japalura yunnanensis popei Wettstein, 1938 Wettstein, 1938 | synonym |
| Japalura swinhonis Gressitt, 1936 Gressitt, 1936 | synonym |
| Japalura swinhoei Boettger, 1885 Boettger, 1885 | synonym |
| Japalura mitsukurii Stejneger, 1898 Stejneger, 1898 | 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=Diploderma&species=swinhonis 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.
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:8GPMP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.