NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Jacky Dragon
Amphibolurus muricatus (White, 1790)
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
The jacky dragon (Amphibolurus muricatus) is a type of lizard native to south-eastern Australia. Other common names include blood-sucker, stonewalker, and tree dragon. It was one of the first Australian reptiles to be named by Europeans, originally described by English zoologist George Shaw in Surgeon-General John White's Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales, published in London in 1790. The lizard is well-known for its bright yellow mouth and well-developed vertebral crest, as well as the temperature-dependent sex determination of its offspring.
The Wergaia people of the Wimmera region of north-western Victoria call it nganurganity. In 2017, the star Sigma Canis Majoris was officially named "Unurgunite" (a 19th-century transcription of nganurganity), due to its identification with the jacky dragon in Wergaia traditions.
Wikipedia contributors, Jacky dragon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:56:13.944630+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Amphibolurus muricatus (White, 1790)
- Name authority
- (White, 1790)
- Common name
- Jacky Dragon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Agamidae
- Genus
- Amphibolurus
- 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
- subfamilyAmphibolurinae
- genusAmphibolurus
- speciesAmphibolurus muricatus (White, 1790)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Amphibolurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Centralian LashtailAmphibolurus centralis (Loveridge, 1933) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mallee Heath LashtailAmphibolurus norrisi Witten & Coventry, 1984 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Lacerta muricata White, 1790 White, 1790 | ambiguous synonym |
| Agama jacksoniensis Cloquet, 1816 Cloquet, 1816 | 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=Amphibolurus&species=muricatus 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:CZG2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.