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Pogona barbata (CUVIER, 1829)

IUCN Red List - Pogona barbata - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaAgamidae (Amphibolurinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Eastern Bearded Dragon, Bearded Dragon, Jew Lizard
G: Bartagame
S: Dragón barbudo del Este 
SynonymAgama barbata CUVIER 1829: 35
Stellio discosomus PERON 1807 (nomen oblitum)
Discosomus [discosomus] — OKEN 1816
Amphibolurus barbatus — WIEGMANN 1834: 7
Grammatophora barbata — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1837: 478
Amphibolurus barbatus — BOULENGER 1885: 391
Amphibolurus barbatus — LUCAS & FROST 1894: 48
Amphibolurus barbatus — WERNER 1909
Grammatophora barbata — CAMP 1923: 410
Amphibolurus barbatus — KINGHORN 1924
Pogona barbata — STORR 1982
Amphibolurus barbatus — COGGER 1983
Amphibolurus barbatus — BRYGOO 1988: 7
Pogona barbata — MANTHEY & SCHUSTER 1999: 95
Pogona barbata — COGGER 2000: 347
Pogona barbata — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Pogona barbata — MELVILLE & WILSON 2019
Pogona barbata — CHAPPLE et al. 2019: 87 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria)

Type locality: Australia  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: MNHN-RA 7489, Australia, collected Péron & Lesueur. Designation by Badham (1976), by inference of holotype (see Shea, 2001). A subsequent lectotype designation of MNHN 7375 (another former syntype) by Wells & Wellington (1985) is invalid. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Moderately large to very large, stout, more or less depressed agamid lizards with rows and zones of spines on head and body, including a transverse series of spines on occiput. Further distinguishable from Amphibolurus (sensu stricto) by pores located in notch at rear of enlarged femoral and pre-anal scales, and from other Amphibolurus (sensu lato) by alignment of pre-anal pores backwards towards midline (STORR 1982). 
CommentSynonymy: Stellio discosomus PERON, 1807 is a senior synomym of Agama barbata Cuvier, 1829. Stellio discosomus Peron, 1807 is considered as a nomen oblitum, the name Agama barbata Cuvier, 1829( = Pogona barbata) is a nomen protectum. The genus name Discosomus OKEN 1816 is a nomen oblitum and synonym of Pogona (Shea 2021).

Type species: Agama barbata CUVIER 1829 is the type species of the genus Pogona STORR 1982.

Genomics: The University of Canberra has sequenced a Pogona genome (http://genomics.canberra.edu.au) (Georges et al. 2015).

Pogona barbata retains characteristics of the ancestral venom system, namely serial, lobular non-compound venom-secreting glands on both the upper and lower jaws (FRY et al. 2005). THere are mutations in bearded dragons that appear to eliminate scales (Dhouailly et al. 2019).

Ecology: for a comparative phylogenetic analysis of ecological adaptations in Pogona and other Australian agamids see Tallowin et al. 2019.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin barbatus = bearded.

Etymology (genus): from Greek “pogon” = beard. 
References
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  • Badham, J.A. 1971. Albumin formation in eggs of the agamid Amphibolurus barbatus barbatus Copeia 1971 (3): 543-545. - get paper here
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