LIZARDS OF THE TOWNSVILLE REGION

Frilled lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii

DISTRIBUTION:

Kimberley district, WA, through NT to northern and eastern Queensland. Extralimital in southern New Guinea.

HABITAT:

Sclerophyll forests and woodlands.

DESCRIPTION (from Cogger, 1992; Wilson and Knowles, 1988):

SVL = 220mm.

BREEDING:

Oviparous.

DIET:

Invertebrates and the occasional vertebrate.

NOTES:

Arboreal, diurnal.

REFERENCES:

Christian, K. A. and Bedford, G. S. 1995. Seasonal changes in thermoregulation by the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, in tropical Australia. Ecology 76: 124-132.

Christian, K., Bedford, G. and Griffiths, A. 1995. Frillneck lizard morphology: comparisons between sexes and sites. J. Herpetol. 29: 576-583.

Christian, K. and Green, B. 1994. Seasonal energetics and water turnover of the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, in the wet-dry tropics of Australia. Herpetologica 50: 274-281.

Christian, K. A., Griffiths, A. D. and Bedford, G. S. 1996. Physiological ecology of frillneck lizards in a seasonal tropical environment. Oecologia 106: 49-56.

Cogger, H. G. 1992. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Reed Books, Sydney.

Ehmann, H. 1992. Encyclopedia of Australian Animals. Angus and Robertson, Sydney.

Griffiths, A. D. and Christian, K. A. 1996. Diet and habitat use of frillneck lizards in a seasonal tropical environment. Oecologia 106: 39-48.

Griffiths, A. D. and Christian, K. A. 1996. The effects of fire on the frillneck lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii) in northern Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 21: 386-398.

Shine, R. 1990. Function and evolution of the frill of the frillneck lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii (Sauria: Agamidae). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 4: 11-20.

Shine, R. and Lambeck, R. 1989. Ecology of frillneck lizards Chlamydosaurus kingii (Agamidae) in Tropical Australia. Aust. Wildl. Res. 16: 491-500.

Wilson, S. K. and Knowles, D. G. 1988. Australia's Reptiles; a photographic reference to the terrestrial reptiles of Australia. Collins, Sydney.

Work in progress. Prepared by: Geordie Torr, Dept. of Zoology, James Cook University, QLD 4811, Australia.

Geordie.Torr1@jcu.edu.au

Last updated: February, 1997.