This is the only real Asian genus of the Lacertidae, members being found from E Russia through China, India and SE Asia as far south as Indonesia. All are fairly elongated, narrow-bodied lizards whose tail length may double that of the body. Details on the various species are scarce, so please do not expect this section to be completed for some time. The species listing is courtesy of the ever-excellent TIGR reptile database.
| Scientific Name | Common Name | Distribution | Size | Notes |
| Takydromus | ||||
| T. amurensis | E Russia, NE China, Korea, Japan (Tshushima Islands) | ?" | An olive-brown lacertid with a varying pattern: Shannon mentions that one found in 1952 was in rocky terrain with scattered pine trees. Scalation details [from Shannon]: 7-11 (usually 8) enlarged dorsal scales, of which 1-2 central rows maybe somewhat reduced. Coloration: overall olive-brown. There is black dorsolateral stripe just below keeled rows: this is bordered by a thin white band running from snout to groin. This white border may by broken by black blotches, be reduced or be absent altogether. Occasional individuals lack almost any pattern. | |
| T. dorsalis | Japan (Ishigaki Island in the Ryuku islands) | ?" | Very limited distribution: see EMBL database entry for details. | |
| T. formosanus | Taiwan | ?" | ?. | |
| T. hani | SE Asia Green Grass Lizard | Vietnam (Ha Tinh) | ?" | |
| T. haughtonianus | India (Assam) | ?" | ?. | |
| T. hsuehshanensis | C Taiwan | ?" | ?. | |
| T. intermedius | SW China | ?" | Scalation details: nasals in contact behind rostral; anterior supraocular very small, usually indicated by a minute granule; 4 pairs of chin-shields; enlarged dorsal scales in 8 longitudinal rows, the 2 vertebral rows being smaller; ventrals smooth or feebly keeled, in 6 rows. Other: head 175-200% as long as wide; tail 2½-3 times as long as snout-vent length [SOURCE: Stejneger]. | |
| T. khasiensis | India (Assam), Burma | ?" | ?. | |
| T. kuehnei | China, Taiwan, Vietnam | ?" | Vogt's "Tachydromus chinensis" was later considered to be a synonym of this species (he had himself recognised the similarity but distinguished the putative new species on the basis of the lower number of supralabials, postmentals and inguinal pores). Scalation details: rostral may or may not be separated from internasal; nostril located in middle of nasal; 2 loreals, of which posterior is largest; 2 prefrontals; frontal supported above and below on 3 corners; 2 large supraoculars separated from superciliaries by a row of small granular scales; 6 supralabials, of which 5th is largest and located beneath eye; parietals behind interparietal are separated by small occipital; 3 small temporals and 3-4 pairs of postmentals on each side. Dorsal scalation: dorsals large and sharply keeled, in 3 regular rows on each side and separated by a vertebral row of smaller scales. Ventral scalation: 6 ventral rows, bluntly keeled; small lateral granular scales bordering ventrals, not enlarged. Other: 3-5 inguinal pores on each side. Head elongated. Coloration: [van Denburgh] dorsally olive or olive brown, dark olive brown lateral streak, lower surfaces white.[Vogt, in alcohol] dorsally brownish green, dark on the sides; light line runs from nostril above lower eyelid to the groin; ventrally greenish-white, yellowish red beneath tail [SOURCE: van Denburgh 1909, T Vogt 1914]. | |
| T. k. kuehnei | China, Taiwan, Vietnam | ?" | ||
| T. k. vietnamensis | N Vietnam | ?" | ?. | |
| T. sauteri | Taiwan | ?" | Scalation details: 4 pairs of postmentals; dorsals large, in regular rows. Other: 1 inguinal pore on each side. Head and tail very elongated. Coloration: dorsally green, upper lip and lower surfaces white. [SOURCE: van Denburgh 1909]. | |
| T. septentrionalis | S China, Taiwan | 10?" | Less slender than T. sexlineatus. Scalation details (from IndiaHerps): 7 upper and 6 lower labials. Dorsal scales: strongly keeled, 4 longitudinal rows. Ventral scales: keeled, 8 longitudinal and 28 transverse rows. | |
| T. sexlineatus | India (Sikkim, Assam), China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Borneo) | 14" | This is the Takydromus species most commonly seen in the pet trade, probably because of its very wide distribution. | |
| T. s. sexlineatus | Scalation details (from IndiaHerps): 3 pairs of chin-shields. Dorsal scales: strongly keeled, 4 longitudinal rows. Ventral scales: keeled, 10 longitudinal and 22-23 transverse rows. | |||
| T. s. meridionalis | Scalation details (from IndiaHerps): 3 pairs of chin-shields. Dorsal scales: strongly keeled, 4 longitudinal rows. Ventral scales: keeled, 10 longitudinal and 22-23 transverse rows. | |||
| T. s. ocellatus | S China, Hainan, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, N Burma, N Malaysia | |||
| T. smaragdinus | Japan (Ryuku Islands) | ?" | ?. | |
| T. stejnegeri | Taiwan | ?" | ?. | |
| T. sylvaticus | China | ?" | ?. | |
| T. tachydromoides | Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Tsushima), S Korea | ?" | ?. | |
| T. t. oldi | ||||
| T. t. tachydromoides | ||||
| T. toyamai | Japan (Ryukus) | ?" | Only described in 1996: see EMBL database entry for details. | |
| T. wolteri | E Russia, Korea, E China | ?" | Scalation details [from Shannon]: single femoral pore on each side. Coloration: dark dorsal stripe, about 3 scales wide. Distinct white ventrolateral band 1 scale wide runs from tip of snout to groin. | |
Echsen [Lizards] 2, Manfred Rogner, Ulmer, Stuttgart 1994. Only lists Takydromus sexlineatus and Takydromus species but gives useful details on those selected, including husbandry of captives.
"The Reptiles and Amphibians of Korea", Frederick A Shannon, Herpetologica Vol 12 pp.22-48, 1956. Useful summary of the herpetofauna of the Korean peninsula. The author was at the time on military duty in Korea and also had recourse to relevant literature.
"Herpetological Novelties from China", Leonhard Stejneger, Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol 5, July 21 1924.
"New and Previously Unrecorded Species of Reptiles and Amphibians from the Island of Formosa," John van Denburgh, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series, Vol III pp 49-56, December 20 1909.
"Südchinesische Reptilien und Amphibien", Theodor Vogt, Sitz. Gesell. Nat. Fr. Berlin, 1914.
A useful site for some details on Takydromus was the online E-book Reptiles of British India by Albert Günther. This was originally published in 1864 so the reader should be aware that a lot of the species have been reclassified since.
There is not much information freely available on Takydromus, although several Chinese sites do offer information in Cantonese or Mandarin.
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