Reptiles - Dragons and Lizards

While it might seem out of the ordinary for a visitor to the World Heritage Area to have a lizard on their "must see" list, the Boyd's Forest Dragon is well worth such a distinction. This dragon conjures up images of the giant lizards who battled in the Jules Verne tale 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' with its colourful, large-scaled head and line of curved spikes down its back. Boyd's Forest Dragon (Hypsilurus boydii) is the epitome of cryptic in its closed canopy rainforest habitat and is a challenge to spot even when it is directly in front of you. It is often found clinging vertically to a tree trunk with its head uppermost although the 50 cm long Boyd's has been observed by herpetologists to sometimes sleep in a horizontal position on branches. Boyd's Forest Dragon was probably one of our immigrants from Southeast Asia when a land bridge to New Guinea existed during an ice age.

While not a rainforest endemic, the Lace Monitor deserves a mention due to its size, likelihood of being seen by visitors and its disposition. Up to 1.5 metres in length, it is an impressive beast to observe. This lizard is arboreal and is a major predator of birds' nests but it also eats reptiles, small mammals, large insects - even carrion and food scraps. Lace Monitors (Varanus varius) can sometimes be seen sauntering confidently through campgrounds, seemingly unafraid of people, while they search for unattended plates of food. However, if startled or threatened, they will run up the nearest tree trunk, quick as a flash!

More information about the lizards of the Wet Tropics can be found in the reptile pages of James Cook University's website.