biology

Gonocephalus doriae

Gonocephalus doriae is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gonocephalus doriae rather than just read about it. In short: Gonocephalus doriae (Doria's angle-headed lizard or Peter's forest dragon) is a species of arboreal lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to the island of Borneo.

Key takeaways

Gonocephalus doriae belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gonocephalus doriae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gonocephalus doriae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gonocephalus doriae (Doria's angle-headed lizard or Peter's forest dragon) is a species of arboreal lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to the island of Borneo.

Etymology G. doriae is named for Marquis Giacomo Doria (1840–1913), an Italian naturalist, botanist, herpetologist and politician, founder of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Genoa (now the Natural History Museum of Giacomo Doria) and its director from then until his death.

Description G. doriae is usually green on top with dark and light flecks and an indistinct wavy grey pattern, and sometimes with large orange patches. The dewlap/gular pouch is yellow with greyish-blue stripes. There is typically a series of transverse bars on the lower flanks and the ventral surface is lighter. There is a pronounced dorsal crest that is as high as the nuchal crest. It grows to an average snout-vent length of around 165 mm (6.5 in).

Geographic range Doria's angle-headed lizard is found only in the lowland and hill rainforests of Indonesian Borneo and Malaysian Borneo.

Behavior G. doriae is diurnal and is typically found perched on the side of a tree or sapling. At night, juveniles and young adults can be found sleeping on the tops of branches with their head pointed back towards the trunk. When threatened, it will often open its mouth, but is generally disinclined to bite.

Diet The diet of Doria's angle-headed lizard is not recorded, but likely to be primarily arthropods.

Reproduction G. doriae is oviparous. Little is known about clutch sizes.

Taxonomy There is some dispute over whether Gonocephalus abbottii represents a full species or is actually a subspecies of G. doriae.

References

Further reading Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History) Volume I. Geckonidæ, Eublepharidæ, Uroplatidæ, Pygopodidæ, Agamidæ (Second ed.). London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). (Gonyocephalus doriæ, pp. 284-285) Cochran DM (1922). "Description of a new species of Agamid lizard from the Malay Peninsula". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 60 (1–3): 1–3. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.60-2421.1. (Gonocephalus abbotti, new species) Cox MJ; van Dijk PP; Nabhitabhata J; Thirakhupt K (1998). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Ralph Curtis Publishing. ISBN 978-0883590430. de Rooij N (1915). The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. I. Lacertilia, Chelonia, Emydosauria. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Evers, Michael (2013). "Der Traum vom Urwald im Wohnzimmer. Winkelkopfagamen (Gonocephalus) im Terrarium". Reptilia (Münster) (in German). 18 (102): 50–59. Evers, Michael (2010). Winkelkopfagamen. Gonocephalus belli, G. chamaeleontinus, G. doriae abbotti (in German). Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag. Grismer LL; Chan KO; Grismer JL; Wood PL Jr; Norhayati A (2010). "A checklist of the herpetofauna of the Banjaran Bintang, peninsular Malaysia". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 17 (2): 147–160. Grossmann W; Tillack F (2004). "Gonocephalus doriae abbotti COCHRAN 1922". Sauria (Berlin) (in German). 26↑issue=3: 2. Manthey U; Denzer W (1993). "Die Echten Winkelkopfagamen der Gattung Gonocephalus KAUP (Sauria: Agamidae) VI. Die chamaeleontinus-Gruppe". Sauria (in German). 15 (2): 23–38. Manthey U; Grossmann W (1997). Amphibien & Reptilien Südostasiens (in German). Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag. ISBN 978-3931587123. (Gonocephalus doriae, p. 182) Manthey U.; Schuster N (1999). Agamen, 2. Aufl. Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag. Peters W (1871). "Über neue Reptilien aus Ostafrika und Sarawak (Borneo), vorzüglich aus der Sammlung des Hrn. Marquis J. Doria zu Genua". Monatsberichte der königlich preussischen Akadademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (in German). 1871: 566–581. (Gonyocephalus doriae, new species, p. 570) Taylor EH (1963). "The lizards of Thailand". University of Kansas Science Bulletin. 44: 687–1077. Tweedie MWF (1954). "Notes on Malayan reptiles, No. 3". Bulletin of the Raffles Museum. 25: 107–117.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gonocephalus doriae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gonocephalus doriae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gonocephalus doriae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gonocephalus doriae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gonocephalus doriae

In research: Gonocephalus doriae appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gonocephalus doriae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gonocephalus doriae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Endemic fauna of Borneo, Gonocephalus, IUCN Red List least concern species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gonocephalus doriae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Gonocephalus doriae” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Gonocephalus doriae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gonocephalus doriae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gonocephalus doriae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gonocephalus doriae in simple terms?

Gonocephalus doriae (Doria's angle-headed lizard or Peter's forest dragon) is a species of arboreal lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to the island of Borneo.

Why does Gonocephalus doriae matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gonocephalus doriae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gonocephalus doriae.