Diploderma makii

The Xitou dragon lizard is called Makijapalure in foreign language, and has no subspecies.

The Xitou dragon lizard is a tree-dwelling creature, diurnal, often active in the open space at the edge of the forest during the day, and often on the leaves facing the light in the bushes. It is highly territorial. When disturbed, the male lizard's throat will expand and it will do a push-up-like posture. It mainly feeds on small invertebrates.

Listed in the China Biodiversity Red List - Vertebrate Volume, with an assessment level of Vulnerable (VU).

Listed in the second level of the "List of National Key Protected Wildlife in China".

Protect wildlife and eliminate game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!

Distributed in Nantou City (1500 meters above sea level) and Pingtung City, Taiwan, China.
Lives in forests, on trees or on the ground. Likes to live on tree trunks 50 to 300 cm above the ground.

The body is flattened laterally, with a head-body length of 63 to 78 mm and a tail length of about 2 times the head-body length. The snout is pointed and rounded at the end. The tympanum is scaly; the back and sides of the head are covered with enlarged irregularly arranged ridged scales. The scale row in the middle of the back is composed of 41 strongly ridged mane scales, and the front 7 are particularly enlarged, forming a neck mane. On both sides of the back, the slightly enlarged scales are separated by 1 to 2 small scales to form an intermittent secondary ridge row; the tips of the scales on the back of the body face backwards or slightly obliquely upwards. The limbs are relatively short, and the hind limbs extend forward close to the body to the rear edge of the eye. The limbs of the female are even shorter, and the hind limbs extend forward close to the body only to the ears. The tail is slightly flattened laterally, and the cross-section is oval. The sub-tail scales are strong