Australian water dragon
species of reptile
The Australian water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii), which includes the eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) and the Gippsland water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii howittii) subspecies, is a semi aquatic agamid species native to eastern Australia from Victoria northwards to Queensland. There may be a small introduced population on the south-east coast of South Australia.
The Gippsland water dragon is generally the more southern of the two subspecies and the more cold adapted and heat sensitive.
Visually distinguishing the Gippsland water dragon from the Eastern water dragon is relatively easy, as long as their skin is reasonably clean and not stained from the water, as identification of the two subspecies depends largely on observable differences in colours and patterns.
The Gippsland water dragon may be distinguished by its green-blue colour, especially during the breeding season, when this overall colouration is quite distinct. Another key difference is the absence of a prominent dark stripe behind the eye in the Gippsland water dragon, which is characteristic of the Eastern water dragon. The gular region of the two subspecies is also quite different, with Intellagama l. howittii having orange-yellow streaked with darker striping, which is sometimes quite striking, particularly in mature males, whereas Intellagama l. lesueurii typically has a pale, unmarked throat that is sometimes immaculate white in mature males. The belly and chest of Intellagama l.
The public source identifies “Australian water dragon” as species of reptile. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Australian, water and dragon.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q24557484. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Australian water dragon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.