Acanthosaura

Acanthosaura is a genus of lizards, commonly known as mountain horned dragons or pricklenape agamas, in the family Agamidae. The common name "pricklenape" refers to a row of dorsal spines which runs down the back of the neck. They are arboreal lizards found in Southeast Asia. They are medium-sized, their total length (including tail) ranging from about 7.5 to 15 in (19 to 38 cm), depending on species and individual. As the common name "mountain horned dragons" implies, they tend to prefer higher elevation areas with dense vegetation.

Acanthosaura
Acanthosaura sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Agamidae
Subfamily: Draconinae
Genus: Acanthosaura
Gray, 1831

Diet

Mountain horned dragons are insectivorous, consuming only live food. Common foods in captivity include crickets, earthworms, silkworms, mealworms, moths, roaches, wax worms, and grasshoppers. They require a variety in diet and will often refuse food when offered in excessive redundancy.

Typical Acanthosaura feeding behavior is a sit-and-wait style. They will perch 1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft) off the ground until they spot their prey, which is often down on the ground. A display of aerobatics is not uncommon from Acanthosaura species when hunting food. They will eat and hunt fish, but most will not submerge their heads to catch a meal.

Reproduction

Females of the genus Acanthosaura lay their first clutch of eggs about four months after mating. They may lay up to four clutches total per year, separated by a month or two.

In captivity

Mountain horned dragons are popular pets, and readily available in the exotic pet trade. A. capra is considered the hardiest and most easily kept species of the genus, and is the most common species found for sale in the United States.[1] While not considered to be difficult to breed in captivity, most specimens available are wild caught. However, due to captive breeding, more and more captive bred lizards are available.

Species
  • Acanthosaura capra at Chester Zoo
  • Acanthosaura phuketensis
  • Acanthosaura phuketensis (juvenile)

References
  1. Captive care of mountain horned dragons
  2. Wood, Perry L. Jr; Grismer, L. Lee; Grismer, Jesse L.; Neang, Thy; Chav, Thou; Holden, Jeremy (2010). "A new cryptic species of Acanthosaura Gray, 1831 (Squamata: Agamidae) from Thailand and Cambodia". Zootaxa 2488: 22-38. (Acanthosaura cardamomensis, new species). http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/z02488p038f.pdf
  3. Nguyen, Luan Thanh; Do, Dang Trong; Hoang, Ha Van; Nguyen, Thang Tai; McCormack, Timothy E. M.; Nguyen, Truong Quang; Orlov, Nikolai L.; Nguyen, Vu Dang Hoang; Nguyen, Sang Ngoc (2018). "A New Species of the Genus Acanthosaura Gray, 1831 (Reptilia: Agamidae) from Central Vietnam". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 25 (4): 259–274. doi:10.30906/1026-2296-2018-25-4-259-274. Retrieved 11 February 2019. (Acanthosaura murphyi, new species).
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