Rankinia diemensis
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Rankinia is a genus of small agamid reptiles. As currently delineated, it is monotypic, containing only Rankinia diemensis (Gray, 1841), also known as the mountain heath dragon or mountain dragon. It is endemic to Australia.
It occurs in the uplands of New South Wales and Victoria, as well as in Tasmania, where it is the only native agamid. Mountain dragons are found in dry woodlands and heaths with access to open areas for sunning themselves. They are oviparous and feed on ants and other small invertebrates.
They do not climb very high, relying instead on camouflage to evade predators. Their overall colour is grey to reddish brown, with two rows of lighter-coloured paravertebral stripes or blotches running down their backs. These stripes are deeply scalloped, so they appear like two series of blotches. They can have cream-coloured bellies. Individuals can grow up to 20 cm in length, although the average length is somewhat smaller, with females typically growing larger than males. The average snout to base of tail length is 7.5 centimeters, but can be up to 9. They have a row of enlarged spinose (spikey) scales on each side of the tail... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoo & Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Freycinet National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Dragon sighting in Freycinet National Park on a given day, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 9 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Dragon in Freycinet National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April and May, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mountain Dragon sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Mountain Dragon sightings, Freycinet National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Blue Mountains National Park (Australia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mountain Dragon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Freycinet National Park (48 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
