Harpesaurus modiglianii explained

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.

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.^[1]

Etymology

The specific name, modiglianii, is honor of Italian botanist Elio Modigliani.^[2]

Geographic range

H. modiglianii is indigenous to northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of H. modiglianii is forest.

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.

H. modiglianii has a sickle-shaped upturned nasal appendage. Not including this appendage, the holotype has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 8.3cm (03.3inches), and a tail length of 13.9cm (05.5inches). Its nasal appendage is 6mm long, roughly as long as the head.^[3]

Reproduction

H. modiglianii is oviparous.

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).

Notes and References

1. 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 . 10.47605/tapro.v9i1.216. free .
2. Book: Crombet-Beolens, Richard Allen . The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles . Watkins . Michael . Grayson . Michael . . 2011 . 978-1-4214-0135-5 . Baltimore . 181 . en.
3. [Decio Vinciguerra|Vinciguerra]