Eastern bearded dragon
Eastern Bearded Dragon ( Pogona barbata )
The Eastern bearded dragon ( Pogona barbata ) is a lizard of the genus Bearded Dragons ( Pogona ). The species occurs in the eastern and south-eastern Australia from the coast to 1000 km inland before.
Features
Eastern Bearded dragons are powerfully built lizard with significantly flattened body, relatively short legs and a seen from above, oblong- triangular head. You can reach about 25 cm in head -body length, with a total length of up to 65, rarely 75 cm. Their basic color is usually gray, more rarely reddish, yellowish, or just brown. The color changes depending on the mood and body temperature. A bright, diamond-shaped pattern is pronounced in young animals, in older animals, however faint or absent. Throat and tail are dark gray to black and the inside of the mouth usually bright yellow. At the back of the head, behind the mouth and in a wide belt along the flanks are rows significantly enlarged, spine- like scales. The "beard", a throat pouch with distinct spines at the rear end, is well developed. The scales on the body are non-uniformly arranged with predominantly tile-like, weakly keeled scales and single, larger, distinctly keeled scales between. The scales on the belly are also keeled.
The males are slightly larger, have a wider head, a more pronounced, darker-colored beard and a pale green to bluish coloration of the anterior head region. The females often exhibit bite marks on the pairing at the back.
Distribution and habitat
The species occurs in the eastern and south-eastern Australia from the coast to 1000 km inland before. The range extends from Cairns in Queensland in the northeast to the southern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, sparing the cooler regions in the southeast. Eastern Bearded dragons inhabit open woodland and scrub, and often populated areas.
Way of life
As a dietary used insects, worms, small mammals and plants. The animals are very territorial, the rank order is largely determined by the size. There are over 70 known body postures that serve the sunbathing and the communication between peers. Threat try bearded dragons usually by fleeing or hiding to escape, but they can threaten the opponent by flattening of the body, Inflating the beard, hissing, showing the yellow mouth Innerens and short jumps.
The breeding season is from August to December. During the mating the male mounts the female and holds it by biting into his throat and neck in position. The female ends the pairing by raising the head almost vertical. The females can at a distance of about six weeks to three, but usually two, scrims produce, each consisting of 15 to 35 eggs. They are buried in moist sand and not guarded.
The type one due to their size, their eye catching resting places and their frequent occurrence in the settlement area of the most famous reptiles of Australia.