Gonocephalus beyschlagi
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Gonocephalus beyschlagi, also known commonly as the Sumatra forest dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The specific name, beyschlagi, is in honor of Fritz Beyschlag who collected the holotype.
The preferred natural habitat of G. beyschlagi is forest, at altitudes below 500 m (1,600 ft). G. beyschlagi may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 11.5 cm (4.5 in), with a tail length of 28 cm (11 in). G. beyschlagi is arboreal and diurnal.
G. beyschlagi is oviparous. Boettger O (1892). "Listen von Kriechtieren und Lurchen aus dem tropischen Asien und aus Papuasien ". Bericht über die Thätigkeit des Offenbacher Vereins für Naturkunde 1892: 65–164. (Gonyocephalus beyschlagi, new species, p. 102). (in German).
Manthey U, Grossmann W (1997). Amphibien und Reptilien Südostasiens. Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag. 512 pp. ISBN 978-3931587123. (Gonocephalus beyschlagi, p. 178). (in German). de Rooij N (1915). The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. I. Lacertilia, Chelonia, Emydosauria. Leiden: E.J... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sumatra Forest Dragon sighting in Gunung Leuser National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 47 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Sumatra Forest Dragon in Gunung Leuser National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August–September and November–February, the lowest months. That is one of Gunung Leuser National Park's driest months, with about 180 mm of rain against 700 mm in September.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sumatra Forest Dragon sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Gunung Leuser National Park, in our data
Gunung Leuser National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Sumatra Forest Dragon sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Gonocephalus
The closest relatives of the Sumatra Forest Dragon that you can see in Gunung Leuser National Park (genus Gonocephalus) are Malayan Crested Lizard (about 30%), Chameleon ForestDragon (about 20%) and Manthey's Forest Dragon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sumatra Forest Dragon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Gunung Leuser National Park (13 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.
