Mitchell's bearded dragon
Mitchell's bearded dragon | ||||||||||||
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Mitchell's Bearded Dragon ( Pogona mitchelli ) |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Pogona mitchelli | ||||||||||||
( Badham , 1967) |
Mitchell's bearded dragon ( Pogona mitchelli ) is a lizard belonging to the genus of bearded dragons ( Pogona ). The specific epithet mitchelli honors the Australian zoologist Francis John Mitchell . Its distribution area is northern Western Australia and the northwestern Northern Territory . Type locality is Derby , Western Australia.
features
Mitchell's bearded dragon has a head-trunk length of 17 cm and a tail length of 25 cm and a maximum total length of about 40 cm. It is therefore a moderately large bearded dragon. It differs from Pogona minor in its lighter color (more brownish, less grayish) and in its longer body and broader head. The contrast of the scales in front of and behind a transverse row of occipital scales is greater than in Pogona minor , longitudinal rows of scales on the side of the neck are missing.
Systematics
Mitchell's bearded dragon was previously considered a subspecies of the western bearded dragon ( Pogona minor ). In areas where Pogona mitchelli and Pogona minor occur, both species hybridize .