Family : AGAMIDAE
Species : Acanthosaura titiwangsaensis
Size (snout to vent) : males 12 cm, females 15 cm
Size (total length) : males up to 30 cm, females up to 37 cm.

The Titiwangsa Horned Tree Lizard (or 'Malayan Mountain Horned Agamid') has been found in two locations in the Titiwangsa Range of Peninsular Malaysia, which forms the backbone of the peninsula, namely Cameron Highlands and Fraser's Hill.

Before its formal description in 2009, the species was misidentified as being Acanthosaura crucigera.

Its adult body colour is yellow-brown to olive-green, patterned with numerous ocelli, or eye-like patterns. There is a dark band around the neck, and the tail is plain.

It possesses a long spine extending above each eye socket, and small spines above the head and along the vertebral line. There are no spines on the back of the neck.

The ecology of this species has not been studied but, as with other horned tree lizards, it has been observed on the forest floor foraging for food which probably comprises mainly invertebrates.

This species appears to be endemic to the main range of Peninsular Malaysia. Its range probably extends further north than Cameron Highlands and further south than Fraser's Hill : the species has been found at these two locations by virtue of the easy access to lower montane areas which these two hill stations offer.

Figs 1 and 2 : Adult female resting on a young sapling at the edge of lower montane primary rainforest at Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia.  Spotted by Sophia S. Baker

Figs 3 and 4 : Another adult female specimen from Fraser's Hill, at the side of a forest road.


References :

Grismer, L. L. (2011). Lizards of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and their Adjacent Archipelagos. Their Description, Distribution, and Natural History. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main. 728 pp.