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Diploderma polygonatum HALLOWELL, 1861

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Higher TaxaAgamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesDiploderma polygonatum donan (OTA 2003)
Diploderma polygonatum ishigakiense (VAN DENBURGH 1912)
Diploderma polygonatum miyakense (VAN DENBURGH 1912)
Diploderma polygonatum polygonatum HALLOWELL 1861
Diploderma polygonatum xanthostomum (OTA 1991) 
Common NamesE: Ryukyu Japalure, Okinawa Tree Lizard
Chinese: 琉球龙蜥 
SynonymDiploderma polygonatum HALLOWELL 1861: 490
Japalura polygonata — GÜNTHER 1864
Japalura polygonata — BOULENGER 1885: 310
Japalura polygonata — STEJNEGER 1907: 188
Japalura polygonata polygonata — MANTHEY & SCHUSTER 1999: 74
Japalura polygonata polygonata — GORIS & MAEDA 2004
Japalura polygonata polygonata — MANTHEY 2010
Diploderma polygonatum — WANG et al. 2018

Diploderma polygonatum donan (OTA 2003)
Japalura polygonata donan OTA 2003
Japalura polygonata donan — MANTHEY 2010: 85
Diploderma polygonatum donan — WANG et al. 2018 (by implication)

Diploderma polygonata ishigakiense (VAN DENBURGH 1912)
Japalura polygonata ishigakiensis VAN DENBURGH 1912: 4
Japalura polygonata ishigakiensis — GORIS & MAEDA 2004
Japalura polygonata ishigakiensis — MANTHEY 2010: 85
Diploderma polygonatum ishigakiense — WANG et al. 2018 (by implication)

Diploderma polygonatum miyakense (VAN DENBURGH 1912)
Japalura polygonata miyakensis VAN DENBURGH 1912: 4
Japalura polygonata miyakensis — MANTHEY 2010: 85
Diploderma polygonatum miyakense — WANG et al. 2018 (by implication)

Diploderma polygonata xanthostomum (OTA 1991)
Japalura polygonata xanthostoma OTA 1991
Japalura polygonata xanthostoma — MANTHEY 2010: 87
Diploderma polygonatum xanthostomum — WANG et al. 2018 (by implication) 
DistributionJapan (Ryukyu Archipelago)
China (N Taiwan)

ishigakiensis: Japan (Miyako, Yaeyama)

miyakensis: Japan (Loo Choo Islands); Type locality: Miyako, Loo Choo Islands, Japan.

xanthostoma: N Taiwan;Type locality: Taipei Prefecture, Waishuangchi

Type locality: “Amakarima” Island (= Kerama shima)  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 12203
Holotype: CAS 21353, paratypes: CAS [miyakense]
Holotype: CAS 21354, paratypes: CAS [ishigakiense]
Holotype: KUZ R9855, an adult male, also given as OMNH (Osaka) R2999 [xanthostomum]
Holotype: KUZ R234, an adult male collected on 17 August 1981 by H. Ota, Paratypes: KUZ [donan] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Lizards of the genus Diploderma differ from closely related genera by having the following morphological characteristics: (1) scales of lateral head keeled; (2) nuchal and dorsal crest scales relatively short and thick, not elongated into lanceolate spines, CL/HL mostly <10%; (3) post-occipital and post-orbital spines absent; (4) gular scales mostly homogeneous in size, not decreasing in size toward the centre; (5) scales on lateral jaw subequal in size across gular region; (6) dorsal scale significantly heterogeneous in size and shape, not regularly imbricate; (7) paravertebral dorsolateral ridges of body present in most species, formed by enlarged, keeled scales (except in D. swinhonis and D. leui); and (8) V-shaped ridges along dorsal body midline absent in all but one species (except in D. swinhonis).


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CommentThe nominate form of this species is classified as “vulnerable” in Japan (Ota 2000).

Type species: Diploderma polygonatum HALLOWELL 1861: 490 is the type species of the genus Diploderma HALLOWELL 1861. 
EtymologyNamed after the polygon-shaped scales of color patches.

The Latin genus name ‘Diploderma’ consists of two parts, ‘Diplo-’ means ‘double’ or ‘many’, and ‘-derma’ means ‘skin’, and the whole word is in a neuter gender. As the previous generic name ‘Japalura’ and most species names of the genus s.l. are feminine, most names of species that are now assigned to Diploderma need their gender changed to neutral (except for existing neutral-gender names like brevipes or flaviceps, Latin nouns like vela or names derived from peoples’ names, i.e. dymondi, luei, makii, swinhonis, varcoae and zhaoermii). Wang et al. 2018 suggested the English common name of the genus as ‘Mountain Dragon’, and the Chinese common name as ‘龙蜥’ (pronounced as ‘Long-Xi’). 
References
  • ANANJEVA, Natalia B.; Xianguang GUO and Yuezhao WANG 2011. Taxonomic Diversity of Agamid Lizards (Reptilia, Sauria, Acrodonta, Agamidae) from China: A Comparative Analysis. Asian Herpetological Research 2 (3): 117-128 - get paper here
  • Barbour, Thomas 1909. Notes on Amphibia and Reptilia from Eastern Asia. Proc. New England zool. Club 4: 53-78, 2 plates - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. Geckonidae, Eublepharidae, Uroplatidae, Pygopodidae, Agamidae. London: 450 pp. - get paper here
  • DENZER, WOLFGANG; ULRICH MANTHEY, PATRICK D CAMPBELL 2019. Catalogue of type specimens of the agamid lizard genus Japalura s. l. (Squamata: Agamidae: Draconinae). Zootaxa 4612 (1): 109-125 - get paper here
  • Goris, R.C. & Maeda, N. 2004. Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Japan. Krieger, Malabar, 285 pp.
  • Günther, A. 1864. The Reptiles of British India. London (Taylor & Francis), xxvii + 452 pp. - get paper here
  • Hallowell, E. 1861. Report upon the Reptilia of the North Pacific Exploring Expedition, under command of Capt. John Rogers, U. S. N. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 12 [1860]: 480 - 510 - get paper here
  • Jono, Teppei; Takashi Kawamura, and Ryosuke Koda 2013. Invasion of Yakushima Island, Japan, by the Subtropical Lizard Japalura polygonata polygonata (Squamata: Agamidae). Current Herpetology Aug 2013, Vol. 32, No. 2: 142-149. - get paper here
  • Manthey U 2010. Agamid Lizards of Southern Asia. Draconinae 2 -Leiolepidinae. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 7b, Frankfurt, 168 pp.
  • Manthey,U. & SCHUSTER,N. 1999. Agamen, 2. Aufl. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 120 pp. - get paper here
  • Norval, Gerrut; Stephen R. Goldberg, Charles R. Bursey, Jean-Jay Mao, and Kerry Slater 2014. Internal Parasites of Lizards from Taiwan. Herp. Cons. Biol. 9 (3): 484−494 - get paper here
  • Ota, Hidetoshi 2003. A new subspecies of the Agamid Lizard, Japalura polygonata (Hallowell, 1861) (Reptilia: Squamata), from Yonagunijima Island of the Yaeyama Group, Ryukyu Archipelago. Current Herpetology 22 (2):61-71 - get paper here
  • Ota,H. 1989. A new species of Japalura (Agamidae: Lacertilia:Reptilia) from Taiwan. Copeia 1989 (3): 569-576 - get paper here
  • Ota,H. 1991. Taxonomic redefiniton of Japalura swinhonis GÜNTHER (Agamidae:Squamata), with a description of a a new subspecies of J. polygonata from Taiwan. Herpetologica 47: 280-294 - get paper here
  • Slevin, Joseph R.;Leviton, Alan E. 1956. Holotype specimens of reptiles and amphibians in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. [type catalogue] Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 28 (14): 529-560 - get paper here
  • Stejneger, LEONHARD H. 1907. Herpetology of Japan and adjacent territory. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 58: xx, 1-577 - get paper here
  • Tanaka, Satoshi;Nishihira, Moritaka 1981. Notes on an Agamid lizard, Japalura polygonata. Biological Magazine Okinawa 19: 33-39
  • Van Denburgh, J. 1912. Advance diagnoses of new reptiles and amphibians from the Loo Choo Islands and Formosa. Privately published by author, San Francisco. 8 pages.
  • Van Denburgh, J., 1912. Concerning certain species of reptiles and amphibians from China, Japan, the Loo Choo Islands, and Formosa. Proc. Cal. Ac. Sci. (Series 4) 3 (10): 187-258. - get paper here
  • Wang, Kai; Jing Che, Simin Lin, V Deepak, Datta-Roy Aniruddha, Ke Jiang, Jieqiong Jin, Hongman Chen, Cameron D Siler; 2018. Multilocus phylogeny and revised classification for mountain dragons of the genus Japalura s.l. (Reptilia: Agamidae: Draconinae) from Asia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, , zly034, - get paper here
  • Wang, Kai; Jinlong Ren, Hongman Chen, Zhitong Lyu, Xianguang Guo Ke Jiang, Jinmin Chen, Jiatang Li, Peng Guo, Yingyong Wang, Jing Che 2020. The updated checklists of amphibians and reptiles of China. Biodiversity Science 28 (2): 189-218 - get paper here
  • Yang S-F, Komaki S, Brown RM, Lin S-M. 2017. Riding the Kuroshio Current: stepping stone dispersal of the Okinawa tree lizard across the East Asian Island Arc. J Biogeogr. 2017;00:1–14 - get paper here
 
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