Draco sumatranus
Silhouette: Ian Medeiros · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Draco sumatranus, the common gliding lizard, is a species of agamid lizard endemic to Southeast Asia. It has elongated ribs and skin flaps on the sides of its body. When opened, these skin flaps allow it to glide between tree trunks.
It is primarily a tree dweller, except that the females come down to the forest floor to lay eggs. The body length is of about 9 cm (3.5 in), with a slightly longer tail. The body is of a dark grey/brown colouration with stripes and patterns to help it camouflage against the tree trunks. The males have a yellow triangular flap of skin under the chin, the gular fold, which is used to communicate with other lizards, mostly for mating. Females have a much smaller and blue flap.
They feed on small insects. Usually ants and termites. They are relatively common in forests and in urban settings such as parks and gardens. They are found in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Palawan.
It was formerly considered a sub-species of Draco volans. Baker, Nick; Lim, Kelvin. 2008. Wild Animals of Singapore: A Photographic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 2 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Entopia | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sumatran Gliding Lizard sighting in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 39 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sumatran Gliding Lizard in Kuala Lumpur on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, July and October–November, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sumatran Gliding Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Sumatran Gliding Lizard sightings, Kuala Lumpur ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Singapore (Singapore, about 20%).
Same family: Agamidae
The closest relatives of the Sumatran Gliding Lizard that you can see in Kuala Lumpur (family Agamidae, Dragons) are Oriental Garden Lizard (about 40%), Green Crested Lizard (about 20%) and Dusky Earless Agama (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sumatran Gliding Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kuala Lumpur (11 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
