Reptiles and Frogs
Dragons
Sighting 3400559

Amphibolurus muricatus

Jacky Lizard at Morton National Park

Amphibolurus muricatus at Morton National Park - 21 Jan 2017 10:50 AM
Amphibolurus muricatus at Morton National Park - 21 Jan 2017 10:50 AM
Amphibolurus muricatus at Morton National Park - 21 Jan 2017 10:50 AM
Amphibolurus muricatus at Morton National Park - 21 Jan 2017 10:50 AM
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Identification history

Amphibolurus muricatus 2 Oct 2018 PatrickCampbell
Amphibolurus muricatus 2 Jul 2018 PatrickCampbell
Unverified 11 Jun 2018 CRSImages

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User's notes

Additional photo added 2/7/18 Photos replaced with higher resolution images 22/7/18

6 comments

PatrickCampbell wrote:
   2 Jul 2018
I reckon this is a Jacky Dragon (Amphibolurus muricatus) rather than Pogona barbata, as it is currently ascribed.
Reasons being, this specimen has a more pointed snout like a Jacky and lacks the enlarged throat scales and some of the large spinose scales around the sides of the head typical of Eastern Beardies. It also doesn't have the numerous spinose scales on the flanks, characteristic of Pogona barbata.
CRSImages wrote:
   3 Jul 2018
Happy to get a confirmation. Pogona barbata is the closest I can find in my field guide, though it is south of the recorded coastal distribution. For both suggested species the lighter patches / blotchy patches on the back and tail stripes are absent. I have other photos but they don't add to the diagnostics.
CRSImages wrote:
   22 Jul 2018
The lizard was about 450 mm or so nose to tail as far as I can recall. It was certainly much bigger than the Jacky Lizards I see regularly on the coastal walks and as I commented earlier it lacks the lighter patches on the back and the tail stripes. Any other suggestions?
PatrickCampbell wrote:
   22 Jul 2018
Was the animal measured at 450 mm or was this an estimate?
Jackies are known to get up to 35 cm.

It's not a water dragon, as the mouth lining is bright orange (if you look closely at the additional photo).

Wildlife Atlas records indicate that Jackies are in the vicinity, as there's an occurrence record for Amphibolurus muricatus on AoLA by NPWS less than 1.5 km from this sighting (coordinates: -35.289122711 150.351803463 )
https://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/27988984-c2f8-4053-81e2-422b49cd07e0

Whereas there are no known reliable records as far as I could find for Pogona barbata in this area.
CRSImages wrote:
   23 Jul 2018
The length is an estimate and in hindsight following the earlier queries. It was far larger and differently marked than the Jacky lizards I see regularly on the costal walks. My original photos are much clearer than the Atlas images (I don't know whether I can upload better images, but I'll try). The mouth lining is yellow and there is a reddish colour on the belly and tail scales. I agree that this is out of the Pogona barbata range per the NSW field guide.
PatrickCampbell wrote:
   23 Jul 2018
Thanks for uploading better images which look sharper.
The animal appears to be in pre-slough, which may explain why the dorsal markings were obscured.
All things considered, I think it's most likely to be a Jacky Dragon.

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Location information

Sighting information

Species information

  • Amphibolurus muricatus Scientific name
  • Jacky Lizard Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Local native
  • Non-invasive or negligible
  • Up to 1264.8m Recorded at altitude
  • 504 images trained Machine learning

Record quality

  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Verified by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
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