Mountain Dragon: Museum Victoria

Mountain Dragon Rankinia diemensis

Identification

The Mountain Dragon belongs to a genus of small lizards (Rankinia) which usually have hidden or covered ear structures. It is similar in appearance to the Jacky Lizard but the inside of its mouth is blue (compared with yellow for the Jacky Lizard).

A Mountain Dragon, Rankinia diemensis, Cape Portland, Tasmania.
Photographer: Peter Robertson. Source: Wildlife Profiles

Mountain Dragons are pale grey to dark brown in colour with darker patches on the back arranged in four lines. The scales on their backs are variable with the large spiny ones centrally located and arranged in lines down the back. They also have spiny scales along each side of the base of the tail. Mountain Dragons have a snout-vent length of about 80 millimetres and their tails are quite long (often 120 millimetres or more).

Biology and other information

The Mountain Dragon is the most southerly distributed dragon lizard in the world. Its diet consists mainly of insects. Reproduction is similar to that of the Jacky Lizard – they breed every summer and may have 3-9 eggs. Adults in the southern part of the distribution tend to reach a greater size than their northerly relatives.

Mountain Dragon, Tympanocryptis diemensis

A Mountain Dragon, Rankinia diemensis, digging a nest
Photographer / Source: Michael Kearney

Distribution and Habitat

Mountain Dragons are confined to the uplands of south-eastern Australia including the eastern part of Tasmania. They inhabit dry sclerophyll forests and heathlands and are usually found in ground litter or low vegetation.

The distribution of the Mountain Dragon in Victoria
Source: Museum Victoria (www.museum.vic.gov.au/bioinformatics)

Comments (20)

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I found a mountain lizard in my dog run under hay. He looks healthy and comes out most days when i feed my dogs.I wasn't sure what it was to start with. I am located alond the Tamar River in Tasmania. I bred Bearded Dragons in Darwin so this was a real treat for me.

This site has the Mountain Dragon as Tympanocryptis diemensis. I have a listing from Trust For Nature whihc has it as Amphibolorus diemensis and Wilson and Swan (2008) have it as Rankinia diemensis. Which one is most up to date and where can I find the latest species names for other reptiles?

The Mountain Dragon or Mountain Heath Dragon as it is sometimes also named was originally named Amphibolurus diemensis (Type Locality Tasmania). However populations also occur on the mainland and all have historically been put into that taxon (name). In 1984/5 the Sydney Basin form was described as boylani to differentiate the sandstone populations surrounding Sydney. They were also placed into a new genus Rankinia at the same time because the 'group'of species/forms that were known were clearly sufficiently different from other dragons to warrant a unique genus name. Unfortunately whilst this was true and obvious some chose to place the diemensis group of species instead in with the earless dragons Tympanocryptus rather than use the newly proposed name Rankinia (at the time). This has now been accepted and so the correct genus name is Rankinia. As for the correct species name that is also in some question as it is now clear that upland ACT and Sthn Highlands are also distinct but unnamed, Grampians form is also distinct but unnamed, and coastal southern NSW and Gippsland form may also be distinct or perhaps the same as ACT uplands form? So dpending on where your specimen came from its correct name is Rankinia diemensis (TAS) or R. boylani (Sydney) or is an undescrobed form awaiting scientific description and formal recognition (hopefully before they go extinct!)

Looked up the DSE Licensing site and noticed there is no listing for the Mountain dragon(tympanocryptis or rankinia diemensis).Can anyone explain this?

Hi Mark, good question, we are not aware as to why this species is not listed on the Department of Sustainability and Environment licensing list. You may want to follow this up with them to see if there is any reason. Their website is http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/.

Found a mountain dragon today in our backyard, lower mount nelson, hobart, tasmania

I found one on the side of the road in hadspen when our car broke down and wanted to keep it as a pet, is this legal?

Hi Scott - the short answer is no, sadly it's not legal. See the Question of the Week here for more information on why! If you still have the animal, best release it back where you found it, or to a registered wildlife carer if injured.

I have some excellent cloes up video footage of a mountain dragon catching a blow fly. The area is in the Alpine National Park - Moroka area. Regards Reg Gordon

I saw these dragons above the Thompson reservoir in 1996 I'm going to go and have a look for them this coming summer and maybe try and get a permit to collect

i am in hazelbrook,blue mountains,nsw,and saw a few mountain dragons today,sat.12th.nov.2011.here they can be grey,grey/yellow,brick red.markings are quite pronounce in most of them.to help colin as to correct name,they chop and change names almost daily.i guess rankinea probably the most recent.cheers alan.

Hi Colin and Alan, The most recent nomenclature for this species is indeed Rankinia diemensis. We have now updated this InfoSheet to reflect this. Thank you for helping us to improve the quality of our online resources!

the Mountain Dragon definitely does not belong to the Tympanocryptis genus (Earless Dragons). incase u didnt notice Tympanocryptis means hidden ear the genus has their ear drum covered by scales where as the Mountain Dragons is visiable. Genetic studies would prove they are not in the Amphibolurus genus and they belong to the Genus Rankinia. It is now a monotypic genus after a genetic study in 2008 moving the heath dragons in the Ctenophorus genus. btw the 2008 2nd edition was publish before or at the same time but did not make the taxonomic arragement yet if you look at the 3rd edition u will see the the Mountain Dragon (Rankinia diemensis) is in the monotypic genus Rankinia.

On a recent trip(March 2012),to a shack at Woods Lake Tasmania,I found a Mountain Dragon right out side the door,very small (100mm) in length. First one I have ever seen!,mountain dragon is appropriately named, as we were at about 1000m.

Ih my name, is ben we just found mountion dragon in my back yard. For at first we did not no what it was, so we look on the net. It looked like a bit of bark, my mum saw it crawl up our bank. We had never seen any thing like it.

I found one in Sandford , Tas. Cute little guy. Watched me with great curiosity. His eye moved like a chameleon.

We have seen several over the past month, 2 yesterday, 1 today, they are comimg right into the house! We live at Howrah, Tasmania. Does anyone know if they eat portuguese millipedes?

Hi Ian, there are no records of Mountain Dragons eating Portuguese Millipedes, and although it is possible, we don't consider it very likely. Other lizards with similar feeding habits, such as Blue Tongue Lizards and Jacky Dragons, will not eat Portuguese Millipedes due to their highly repellent chemicals. However, there is the odd animal that will take them, but with a choice of other prey available it would be unusual for Mountain Dragons to bother.

i have a good few images of these http://www.redbubble.com/people/mickthow/works/1908935-laying-the-eggs

i was always under the assumption that the Rankinia types where the ones found in tassie and the other Tympanocryptis type was the ones found in vic and nsw, but this is going off info from about 5 years or more ago, i have kept them in the past and they are awesome lil creatures, so full of personality

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Mountain Dragon Rankinia diemensis

Identification

Biology and other information

Distribution and Habitat

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