glide using its tail. The patagium is patterned on the underside with black blotches on yellow and purple. Patterns vary individually and these marking have been used to identify and estimate population sizes. A horn-like, conical tubercle behind and above the posterior part of the eye is prominent. Males have a small crest arising on the nape. The yellow gular sac on the throat is long and narrow, longer in the male. The back is rough and the throat has irregular brown spots. In addition to the patagium, the hyoid apparatus (part of the tongue) expands throat lappets horizontally so that the head is also supported on its sides by small wing-like structures. Taxonomy and etymology The species Draco dussumieri was first described as by André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron, who described it in 1837 in the fourth volume of their catalogue of the reptiles of the world. The specific name, dussumieri, is in honor of Jean-Jacques Dussumier, a French voyager who collected zoological specimens in India. is the Greek word for dragon. D. dussumieri is the only species of Draco found in southern India and is the westernmost representative out of around 42 species in the genus. This species stands out as the sole member of a lineage that represents an old branch from the common ancestor of the species within the genus. One study failed to locate the appropriate mitochondrial sequence for comparison with other species. Distribution D. dussumieri is found principally along the Western Ghats and associated hill forests of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra southern India. It is also reported from some parts of Eastern Ghats (Talakona) in Andhra Pradesh Nelson Annandale recorded it as "common about ten miles north of Trivandrum, but apparently very local." It is often found in coconut and betel-nut plantations near forests. Behaviour and ecology The southern flying lizard feeds on insects. It is strictly diurnal and sleeps at night on flat surfaces. Specimens from northern Karnataka were found to feed on a large number of ants (Oecophylla smaragdina). Males display actively from February to April in Kerala, mainly in the forenoon after the sun warms them up. Males maintain small territories and bob their head and erect the gular pouch when they spot females nearby. The male can change its skin colour to become silvery grey and conspicuous before gliding towards the female. It leaps off with