Original Wild Facts, Reptiles

Wild Fact #849 – Puff the Magic Dragon? – Flying Dragon

Since it was -20 degrees in the Yukon today I figured I could use a tropical vacation, so we are all heading to the tropical rain-forest of Southeast Asia.  I am sure if we look closely we will see some pretty cool things but if we are really lucky we might catch a glimpse of a Flying Dragon. Of course I am not talking about the kind of dragon that is guarding a Princess in a castle.  At least I don’t think they are used as guards!

These flying dragons are just slightly less than 30 cm (12″) in length and are capable of gliding about 30′.  Although, these little guys do not breathe fire they do have a set of false ribs covered with a flap of skin.  When the lizard expands their ribs these flaps turn into “wings” and allow the reptile to move from tree to tree.  Since the flying dragon spend the majority of their lives in the trees it is easy to see the importance of these wings. If you are hoping to catch one of these guys “flying” in the trees then you best pick a nice, calm day since they don’t usually glide in the rain or wind.

Flying lizards are actually a territorial animal and the male of the species will usually claim two or three trees as their Tropical Condo.  Interestingly enough the male will allow one to three female lizards to live in each tree. As usual, the male will show off when they spot a female by spreading his wings and doing some “fancy dancing”! For the record, “fancy dancing” is not the scientific term.  I think the flying and housing habits of this dragon make it much more interesting than the fire-breathing, Princess guarding, dragons found in fairy tales, such as in Shrek! For some reason I had that red dragon that Donkey marries in my head the whole time I was writing this Wild Fact!

Flying Dragon Fast Facts – The female flying dragon will only visit the forest floor to lay her eggs in the soil.  The rest of the time she will hang out high in the trees.

Photo from Michigan Science Art

21 Comments

  1. Cool! I can’t decide if it looks like a butterfly (moth) or a frisbee. I’ve never heard of this little guy before.

    Very interesting Nathan!

  2. I’ve heard of these flying guys before – they are great lizards! I especially love the first picture – whoever shot it either had a lot of practice shooting moving objects, or was just plain lucky!

    1. My thoughts exactly about the pictures. You would love to have this dragon around your house since they too feed on ants. All kinds of cool animals to help out with an ant problem.

  3. Migosh! I’m soooo sorry that I haven’t been able to get here in like forever! I’ve been so busy with an assessment type thing in History. It’s called the CBA and it stands for Classroom Based Assessment. But I’m finally done, so now I can come here more often!

    1. No Worries, Anml_lvr! Glad to have you back. I hope your CBA went well.

      Hopefully your school work is going well and will ease up a bit for you.

  4. Oh! A Flying Lizard! ^_^ I saw A few of these When I was a Child I remember my Brother Caught them near the house of my Grandmother hehhe cute creatures! Oh! and by the Way they also can be seen here in the Philippines the ones that are cought by my brothers are seen in the forest of Rizal Province and the Spicies that are found here are named by the National hero of the Philippines Dr. Jose Rizal, the Lizard is named after him “Draco Rizali”

    i have found pictures taken by a person, but he said it was dead 🙁
    http://bobeye.multiply.com/photos/album/199/Draco_Rizali_Flying_Lizard

    1. Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts and sharing the incredible story. It is great to know that they can be found in the Philippines as well. I am envious that you had the privilege of witnessing these beautiful creatures first hand while you were growing up. They must be quite the site in person.

      Thanks again for passion along the additional information. Useful info is always appreciated and encouraged here at Wild Facts!

  5. Hehe! No Problem! ^_^ Actually When I found out your Web SIte, It Imediately Catches my Interest! It’s a Great Web Site, It’s a Place where to gather More info about animals in Every Specie ^_^ I love your site! Keep it up!

    1. Thanks for the support, Kankiruminamoto! I really do appreciate it. If you ever have any questions or would like to have more information on an animal than please don’t hesitate to e-mail or comment on the blog.

  6. Tambukaka (Draco Rizali) as its scientific name were named after Jose P. Rizal.. this creatures were very common in the philippines.. but now they are facing a deep threat of extinction because they are being hunted .. because Filipino’s thought they can cure ashma.. they do this by roasting them in a coal ’til they were charred and then powdered it by grinding. Some mixed it in their coffe or in their pourage.. I hope many Filipinos should be aware or be educated that this creatures have no scientific test or study that could asses that this is a cure for ashma.. let us protect this creatures enable for the next generation to enjoy and fascinate this rare creatures..

  7. We have this thesis about flying lizards and how it cures asthma…. we’re trying to prove that it does cure… only problem is we don’t know why it cures asthma…HELP!!!!please

    1. This is an incredibly interesting thesis you are working on. I have heard about Flying Dragons being caught, grilled and then cut into tiny pieces to place into porridge or drinks of some sort. There are many testimonials that this type of treatment cures various respiratory issues including asthma.

      As to answer the why this may work. Well that is not an easy question and two potential answers automatically pop into my mind. First is the fact that there may be a chemical inside of the flying lizard that somehow cures respiratory diseases. I wish I could tell you what the chemical is but I have no idea.

      Second is the flying lizard basically acts as a placebo effect. In this case it is all psychological. The people taking this remedy have grown up knowing that Flying Lizards cure asthma. So it only makes sense that once they take this their asthma will be cured. I believe stress is one of the potential causes for asthma so perhaps taking this remedy removes any and all stress towards having asthma. In the end it is basically the power of thought that cures them.

      No matter why this works, it is great to hear that it does. I wish I could be more helpful in explaining the why’s but I just don’t know. I would love to see the results you obtain from your thesis. I am sure it will be groundbreaking and intriguing all at the same time.

  8. About John Valcurza’s Comment..

    Dr. Jose p. Rizal’s Research about the Lizard do not have the Information
    about the Lizard to be a cure for Asthma. Cooking a Lizard into char. would not Give any nutrients,(as Said by Chinese) and also in early times in history of the Philippines
    Chines Traders and Doctors Told the Filipinos that Lizards (actually a Common Gecko)
    is the Cure for Asthma not the Flying Dragon. 😀

    I have Onced Ask my Grandmother about the Flying Lizard and She said it cannot
    Cure Asthma, Just Try to Smoke a Talampunay Leaf Like a cigar,
    (Smoking Like a Cigar?) XD oh well it is Effective since my Friend that have an Asthma
    tried it and said his asthma is Gone after a Few weeks of Curing by the Plant. 😀

    And for The Cause of The Drop in their population, Lost of Habitat, Hunt for display and or Souvenirs, and of course Predation.

    1. Some excellent information, kanjiruminamoto. It is great to hear first hand knowledge about using these creatures to cure asthma (or not in this case). Thank you so much for sharing. It is also very interesting to hear about the Talampunay Leaf to cure asthma. Does it make a good cigar?? 🙂

      Loss of habitat tends to be one of the major causes for most declines in animal populations.

  9. I have never tested the Talampunay as a Cigar, and Never Will test it co’z I’m not a Smoker XD
    but they say it can make you High if you Smoke too much @_@
    WTH!
    I don’t Know if it’s True XD ahaha!

  10. good day. 🙂 just wanna ask is there any recent study about draco rizali? cause i cant find any journals on the net. i badly needed for our thesis. thanks! :))

  11. In Philippines, This species is used as a cure for asthma… they going to fried this in a burning fire and then it is feed to a person who has an asthma.

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