HORNED DRAGON

Described as a new species in 2006, this horned dragon lives in the Central Annamite mountains, in mid-elevation submontane evergreen forests. It can be found in Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Kon Tum, and Gia Lai provinces in Viet Nam, Salavan and Sekong provinces in Laos, and Virachey National Park in Ratanakiri province in Cambodia. It lives on the trunks of tall trees as an adult, and occupies bushes and undergrowth as a juvenile. It is not known to survive in deforested areas or tree plantations, so forest conversion for agriculture and plantation expansion are a serious threat to its survival.

More importantly, this species and others in the Acanthosaura genus are found in the international “pet” trade, and are popular among collectors of exotic lizards. There is hardly any regulation or monitoring of the number of individuals collected from the wild in Viet Nam or Laos and entering the pet trade. Natalia’s horned dragon is not protected under the wildlife laws of Viet Nam, Laos or Cambodia and its international trade is not regulated under the CITES convention. Although it is listed as a species of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List, it was last assessed in 2017 and may be declining from the dual threat of habitat loss and trade. The 2017 assessment lists the species as being uncommon and says there is little information available on its population trends.

A similarly exploited species prevalent in the international pet trade, the Indochinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus), was recently listed in Appendix II of CITES, bringing it under regulation for international trade. Exploitation of this species was particularly severe in Viet Nam for the pet trade destined for Europe and the USA and for domestic pet and meat trade, resulting in steep population declines in northern and central Viet Nam.