Identification:
This medium-sized lizard has a body length of 110 mm and a tail length of 265 mm. The head is longer than it is wide. The rostral scale is wider than it is high and is bordered by four post-rostral scales and two first supralabials. The frontal and parietal regions are slightly concave. The canthus and supraocular ridges are sharp. The nares are round and touch the first supralabial. The scales on the frontal region are larger than those on the parietal region. There are spines posterior to the orbit, with a height of no more than 3 mm, and two spines above the tympanum. The mental scale is quite large.
There are 10 supralabials and 9-10 infralabials on each side. The underside of the fourth digit of the forelimb has 22 small lamellae, and the underside of the fourth digit of the hindlimb has 27 lamellae. There are 46 scale rows around the body. The body scales have posterior and upward-pointing keels. The scales on the chest, abdomen, and limbs have very clear keels. The subcaudal scales are large. There are black grooves or folds in front of the shoulders. The body color is brownish-gray or pale gray. There are dark streaks across the body and tail. The throat is pale pink with scattered black spots. The abdomen is opaque white. During the breeding season, the male’s coloration becomes darker, revealing a loose skin area on the throat with a pale red color and angular markings on the flanks.
Biology and Ecology:
This species is distributed in tropical rainforests, primarily evergreen forests, where it lives on the forest floor amidst dense undergrowth. Females lay 4-12 eggs, which are buried in soft soil or under leaf litter. The eggs hatch independently, depending on environmental temperature.
Distribution:
- Vietnam: Bắc Thái (Bắc Cạn), Vĩnh Phú (Khả Cửu, Đại Đình), Ninh Bình (Cúc Phương), Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh (Tân ấp), Quảng Trị (Hồ Xá), Đồng Nai, Bình Phước, Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu (Côn Đảo)
- Global: This reptile subspecies is found in the southern part of the Thai peninsula extending to Perak in Malaysia, as well as in China, Laos, and Cambodia.