the.com/flying lizard
It doesn't fly so much as fall with breathtaking confidence and a built-in parachute.
means A small Southeast Asian tree-dwelling lizard of the genus Draco that glides between trees using winglike membranes stretched over elongated ribs.
from A plain English compound: "flying" plus "lizard," itself echoing the scientific genus name Draco, Latin for "dragon" — a fittingly grand label for a creature that doesn't fly at all but glides. "Lizard" came into English through Old French lesarde from Latin lacertus, a word that also meant the muscle of the upper arm, perhaps for its little limb-like wriggle.
- true name
- Draco lizards, genus of 40-plus gliding species
- rib wings
- Elongated ribs unfold into membrane wings called patagia
- glide range
- Sails up to 60 meters between trees
- steering
- Throat flaps and tail adjust mid-glide angle
- size
- Body barely 20 centimeters, mostly tiny daredevil
draco volans — southeast asian lizard with wing-like membranes that glides between trees, found from india to philippines
flying dragon — draco genus lizard with extendable rib wings, native to rainforests of malaysia and indonesia