Photograph of Mantheyus phuwuanensis by S. Manthey from Ulrich Manthey’s book on agamids of SE Asia.
Posts about how other lizards have outdone anoles in one way or another are a common theme here on Anole Annals (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4). Keeping this trend going, I wanted to share a photograph of a remarkable species of lizard found in northeastern Thailand and Laos. This photograph of Mantheyus phuwuanensis is by S. Manthey and appears in Ulrich Manthey’s book Agamid Lizards of Southern Asia: Draconinae 2 Leiolepidinae. Very little is known about this species. The photo caption in the book notes that this is a male display. The Reptile Database has a few references, but most are not readily accessible. The one paper I could get my hands on is Ananjeva and Stuart’s (2001) paper from the Russian Journal of Herpetology that moves this species from Ptyctolaemus to its own monotypic genus based on the presence of femoral pores and other traits. Ananjeva and Stuart (2001) don’t comment on the belly dewlap, but do note that the species lives along rock streams and that it spreads its ribs and becomes dorsoventrally flattened when handled, a “behavior that is almost certainly an adaptation for fitting into rock crevices.”
Literature Cited:
Ananjeva, N. B. and B. L. Stuart. 2001. The agamid lizard Ptyctolaemus phuwuanensis Manthey and Nabhitabhata, 1991 from Thailand and Laos represents a new genus. Russian Journal of Herpetology 8:165-170.
- JMIH 2014: Early Records of Fossil Anolis from the Oligocene and Miocene of Florida, USA - August 13, 2014
- JMIH 2014: Relative Contribution of Genetic and Ecological Factors to Morphological Differentiation in Island Populations of Anolis sagrei - August 7, 2014
- JMIH 2014: The Ultrastructure of Spermatid Development within the Anole, Anolis sagrei - August 5, 2014
Ambika Kamath
That is amazing!
Julienne Ng
Wow! Impressive!
Yoel Stuart
How is it doing that? It’s not the hyoid, as that’s being used for the chin dewlap. What else could it have co-opted to extend the stomach dewlap?
K.ra
It looks like the ribs have just been flattened, with the sternum possibly providing support for the anterior portion in place of a hyoid.
gabriel gartner
I wonder what the whole body version of head-bobbing is with these things and if they use it? I would imagine some sort of push-up but it would be interesting to see if it’s coordinated with any head movements…time for a trip to Thailand.
Daniel Scantlebury
Here’s an even stranger look at this structure: http://agama.su/glr/albums/userpics/10002/Mantheyus-phuwuanensis_6.jpg
What’s going on here?
(Doe anyone else think the resemblance to SE Asian Cnemaspis geckos is cool?)