Hydrosaurus celebensis (PETERS, 1872)
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Hydrosaurus celebensis
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Hydrosaurinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: (Sulawesi) Sailfin Lizard G: Segelechse |
| Synonym | Lophura celebensis PETERS 1872: 581 Lophura amboinensis — GÜNTHER 1873: 168 Lophura amboinensis — BOULENGER 1885: 402 (part) Lophura amboinensis — MEYER 1887: 6 (part) Lophura amboinensis — CASTO DE ELERA 1895: 417 (part) Lophura amboinensis — DE ROOIJ 1915: 128 (part) Lophura amboinensis var celebensis — WEBER 1890: 160, 167 Hydrosaurus amboinensis — WERMUTH 1967: 64) (part) Hydrosaurus cf. amboinensis — KOCH 2012: 149 Hydrosaurus sp. [Sulawesi] — SILER et al. 2014: 102 Hydrosaurus celebensis — SILER et al. 2014: 104 Hydrosaurus celebensis — DENZER et al. 2020 |
| Distribution | Indonesia (Sulawesi) Type locality: “am Ufer des Flusses von Posso in der Bai von Tomini” [= Poso River, Tomini Bay, Sulawesi, Indonesia] |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: ZMB 7393, adult male |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Large species, exceeding 1000 mm in total length, possibly 1200 mm (assuming TL/SVL = 2.4, a complete tail of holotype amounts to 864 mm); largest specimen examined, holotype SVL 360 mm, TL 580 mm (TL/SVL = 1.61), part of the tail missing; complete specimen, MZB Lac271, SVL 233 mm, TL 563 mm (TL/SVL = 2.42). Head, neck, gular region and shoulder completely black; a row of enlarged flat, sometimes conical scales on either side of the neck; nuchal and dorsal crests continuous; a group of dirty white enlarged flat scales on the anterior part of the dorsum; few (<10) additional enlarged scales approximately at midbody and before the hindlimbs. Dorsal colouration typically yellowish, sometimes dark orange, interspersed with black spots; ventrally beige, limbs black with a few yellow spots; scales under fourth and fifth toes broad with several keels from near the base of the toe; tail black, sail black or dark violet with black stripes (Denzer et al. 2020). Comparisons: Hydrosaurus celebensis differs from H. amboinensis by the possession of the following charac- ters: a group of strongly enlarged, flat scales on the anterior part of the dorsum. The colour on the dorsum is yellow- ish (vs. yellowish green in male H. amboinensis and green in females). Head, limbs and tail of male H. celebensis are completely or nearly completely black whereas both sexes in H. amboinensis have an entirely black marbled body. Additionally, the gular scales of H. amboinensis are round and irregular in size, while those of H. celebensis are minute and decreasing in size from the mental towards the onset of the gular pouch. H. celebensis differs from H. weberi in its general colour and pattern on the dorsum which is yellowish with black dots (vs. grey green in weberi). H. celebensis differs from H. weberi and H. microlophus by less pronounced enlarged (i.e. armour-like) scales at the front of the forelimbs. In H. celebensis the nuchal and dorsal crests are continuous, while they are separated by considerably smaller scales on the neck in H. weberi (Denzer et al. 2020). |
| Comment | Synonymy partly after Denzer et al. 2020. |
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