Harpesaurus modiglianii

Harpesaurus modiglianii
1933 illustration based on the male holotype specimen. Note the blue colouration, as it was unknown that the preservation process of the specimen had changed its colour from bright green to blue.
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Agamidae
Genus:	Harpesaurus
Species:	H. modiglianii
Binomial name
Harpesaurus modiglianii Vinciguerra, 1933

Harpesaurus modiglianii, also known commonly as Modigliani's nose-horned lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Indonesia.[2]

Once only known from the holotype, a single specimen collected from North Sumatra in 1891, the species was rediscovered after a living population of the species was sighted in 2018.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, modiglianii, is honor of Italian botanist Elio Modigliani.[4]

Geographic range

H. modiglianii is indigenous to northern Sumatra, Indonesia.[1][2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of H. modiglianii is forest.[4]

Description

The holotype specimen is a male, and the preservation process had caused it to turn blue. The discovery of live specimens in 2018 revealed that the species is naturally a luminous green colour in life.[3]

H. modiglianii has a sickle-shaped upturned nasal appendage. Not including this appendage, the holotype has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 8.3 cm (3.3 in), and a tail length of 13.9 cm (5.5 in). Its nasal appendage is 6 mm (0.24 in) long, roughly as long as the head.[5]

Reproduction

H. modiglianii is oviparous.[2]

References

1. Richman N, Böhm M (2010). "Harpesaurus modiglianii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T170400A6776835.en. Downloaded on 09 November 2021.
2. Harpesaurus modiglianii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 28 April 2021.
3. Putra, Chairunas A.; Amarasinghe, A.A. Thasun; Research Center for Climate Change, Multidisciplinary Lab, FMIPA Building, 7th Floor, Kampus UI, University of Indonesia, Depok 16424, Indonesia; Hikmatullah, Desy; Scali, Stefano; Brinkman, JanJaap; Manthey, Ulrich; Ineich, Ivan (2020-05-21). "REDISCOVERY OF MODIGLIANI'S NOSE-HORNED LIZARD, Harpesaurus modiglianii VINCIGUERRA, 1933 (REPTILIA : AGAMIDAE) AFTER 129 YEARS WITHOUT ANY OBSERVATION". Taprobanica. 9 (1): 3–11. doi:10.47605/tapro.v9i1.216.
4. Crombet-Beolens, Richard Allen; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.
5. Vinciguerra (1933).

Further reading

• Putra CA, Amarasinghe AAT, Hikmatullah D, Scali S, Brinkman J, Manthey U, Ineich I (2020). "Rediscovery of Modigliani's nose-horned lizard Harpesaurus modiglianii Vinciguerra, 1933 (Reptilia: Agamidae) after 129 years without any observation". Taprobanica 9 (1): 3–11 + Plates 1–3.
• Vinciguerra D (1933). "Descrizione di una nuova specie di Harpesaurus di Sumatra". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria 56: 355–357. (Harpesaurus modiglianii, new species). (in Italian).