Ryukyu Japalure

Ryukyu Japalure (Diploderma polygonatum) is a slender tree lizard with a long tail and the angular head and body form characteristic of an agamid. Published measurements describe an adult male with a 61 mm snout-to-vent length and a 152 mm tail, giving a total length of 213 mm. Identification should use the full combination of documented structure, pattern and locality because closely related island forms may overlap in general appearance (Wikipedia, general species account; Reptile Database).

The species is documented from the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan and is both diurnal and arboreal. Those traits distinguish its activity and use of vegetation from the mainly nocturnal geckos that share parts of its island range. Its close relationship to Diploderma swinhonis and its short splenial bone are also recorded in the species account. The description stays within species-level information available from the opened accounts; traits not documented there are omitted rather than transferred from related lizards (Wikipedia, general species account; Reptile Database).