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Physignathus cocincinus CUVIER, 1829

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Higher TaxaAgamidae (Amphibolurinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Chinese Water Dragon, Green Water Dragon, Thai Water Dragon, Asian water dragon
G: Grüne Wasseragame
Chinese: 长鬣蜥 
SynonymPhysignathus cocincinus CUVIER 1829: 41 (pl. 16)
(?) Lophura concinna GRAY 1831
Lophura cuvieri GRAY 1831 (fide BOULENGER 1885)
Istiurus Cochinsinensis — GUÉRIN 1829: plate 9
Istiurus Cochinsinensis — CUVIER 1837: plate 18
Istiurus physignathus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1837: 387 (nom. subst.)
Dilophyrus mentager GÜNTHER 1861: 188 (fide SMITH 1935)
Dilophyrus mentager GÜNTHER 1861: 267
Physignathus cochinchinensis — BOULENGER 1885: 399
Physignathus mentager — BOULENGER 1885: 400
Physignathus cocincinus caudicinctus BARBOUR 1912: 192
Physignathus cocincinus mentager — BARBOUR 1912
Physignathus cocincinus — SMITH 1935: 236
Physignathus cocincinus — TAYLOR 1963: 911
Physignatus cocincinus (sic) — WERNING 1993
Physignathus cocincinus — COX et al. 1998: 104
Physignathus cocincinus — MANTHEY & SCHUSTER 1999: 92
Physignathus cocincinus — ZIEGLER 2002: 182
Physignathus cocincinus — MANTHEY 2010
Physignathus concinius — GRISMER & QUAH 2019 (in error) 
DistributionE/SE Thailand, E Indochina, Vietnam (Son La etc.), Birma ? (fide MANTHEY & SCHUSTER 1999) S China (Namgong, Yunnan), Cambodia
Introduced to Taiwan (G.Norval, in AA).

Type locality: Cochinchine (= South Vietnam).

caudicinctus: Type locality: “Laokay, Tonkin”.  
Reproductionoviparous; facultatively parthenogenetic (Miller et al. 2019). 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 2537 (indicated as holotype by monotypy in Brygoo's type catalogue), ? BMNH fide BOULENGER 1885.
Paratype: ZMB 5678, "Chartaboum, Siam", leg. M. Mouhot, gek. von Gerrard [mentager]
Holotype: MCZ 8352 [caudicinctus] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (4749 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentType species: Physignathus cocincinus CUVIER 1829 is the type species of the genus Physignathus CUVIER 1829. The genus Physignathus is not monophyletic (TOWNSEND et al. 2011); up to 8 species have been included in this genus but are now assigned to other genera.

Spelling: The original spelling in Cuvier 1829: 41 was “Phyhignat,us cocincinus” (including the typos and the comma) although the section heading was “Les Physignathes”, hence it is assumed that the species name was a (pretty serious) typo.

Karyotype: 2n=26, fundamental number (NF) = 48 in both males and females. 5 metacentric pairs and one submetacentric pair of macrochromosomes, 12 pairs of apparent microchromosomes. No apparent sex chromosomes (Patawang et al. 2015). 
EtymologyThe name given by CUVIER tried to latinize “Cochin China” which was the reason for GUÉRIN’s unjustified emendation to “cochinchinensis”. “Cochin China” is a name used by the French for the southernmost part of Vietnam. 
References
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