Draco melanopogon
Silhouette: Ian Medeiros · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Draco melanopogon, commonly known as the black-bearded gliding lizard or black-barbed flying dragon, is a species of agamid "flying lizard" endemic to Southeast Asia. It is a typically forest-dwelling arboreal lizard. It preys on small invertebrates like ants and is oviparous. They are notable for relying solely on dewlap-mediated communication, instead of conveying signals via both headbobbing and employing dewlaps, as is typical for lizards with dewlaps.
Boulenger GA. 1887. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III.... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I- XL. (Draco melanopogon, new species, p. 492).
Das I. 2006. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo. Sanibel Island Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-061-1. (Draco melanopogon, p. 79). Draco melanopogon entry at Ecology Asia website Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-barbed Flying Dragon sighting in Singapore on a given day, based on 168 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 20th most-seen of the 64 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-barbed Flying Dragon in Singapore on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-barbed Flying Dragon sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Singapore, in our data
Singapore is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Black-barbed Flying Dragon sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Draco
The closest relatives of the Black-barbed Flying Dragon that you can see in Singapore (genus Draco, Gliding lizards) are Sumatran Gliding Lizard (about 20%) and Five-lined Flying Dragon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-barbed Flying Dragon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Singapore (168 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.
