One of the 4 dragons on WAnimals
Reptiles · Squamata · Agamidae
Eastern Water Dragon
Intellagama lesueurii
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The eastern water dragon is a large, semi-aquatic agamid of the riverbanks of eastern Australia, with a crest of spines running from the nape to the tail. It perches on branches over the water and drops in at the slightest danger, able to stay submerged for more than half an hour. It is very common in the urban parks of Sydney and Brisbane.
Weight
500 g – 1 kg
Size
60 cm – 1 m
Lifespan
20 years
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- GeneralIt drops into the water from the branches and can stay under for over an hour.
- locomociónIt can run at speed on its hind legs and, at need, drop straight into the water from a branch to escape a predator.
- It can stay submerged for more than half an hour by slowing its heart rate, and its first reaction to any threat is to drop from its branch into the water from several metres up.
- Its urban populations in Sydney are the subject of a landmark citizen science project: studies have shown that the dragons of different parks around the city have diverged genetically within a few decades, isolated by the streets and buildings.
- The sex of the hatchlings depends partly on incubation temperature, so urban warming is altering the sex ratio in some populations.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
- Habitat & environment
- Rivers, streams and town parks with water
- Size at birth
- About 15 cm on hatching, and already entirely independent
- Sexual maturity
- 4 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 70 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 10 eggs
Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in eastern Australia, by day, on rocks and branches beside rivers and streams; in Sydney it is common in city parks.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 16 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Eastern Water Dragon — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Frilled Lizard
Chlamydosaurus kingii
Australian Brushturkey
Alectura lathami
Eastern Brown Snake
Pseudonaja textilis
Common Bluetongue
Tiliqua scincoides
Satin Bowerbird
Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about eastern water dragon.
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