General Description

Body grey to dark brown with darker triangular patches that often form a zigzag pattern. Inside of mouth pink. Small crest along back of neck, extending onto the back. Row of enlarged spiny scales on either side of the tail behind the rear legs. Snout to base of tail length up to 9 cm.

Biology

Mountain Dragons mainly live and move on the ground, basking on the soil or leaf litter. They run into vegetation when disturbed. They eat many types of insects. This is one of the few dragon lizards in which females are larger than males. Mountain Dragons breed in summer, laying 2 to 9 eggs in a burrow. The form of this species living in the Grampians in Victoria is listed as critically endangered due to local habitat loss, but the species is not threatened in the rest of its range.

Distribution

South-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania.

Habitat

Sclerophyll forests and coastal heaths.

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