Last Monday (30 July 2012), one of our teachers Sir Daxx (he teaches Grade 1 and 2 Science) found and captured another Philippine endemic lizard, Bronchocela marmorata, which was spotted just outside the school grounds. This endemic lizard was seen climbing up an atis tree. Also known as the Marbled Crested Lizard, the B. marmorata is said to be a Luzon endemic. Though it is morphologically distinct from the more widespread South East Asian B. cristatella, there is DNA evidence that they are actually identical. While the taxonomic debate continues, we are happy to post this as a Philippine endemic until further notice.
Sir Henry kept the lizard in our Science laboratory until we came around to process it the following day. Before anyone gets the wrong idea, “to process” simply means getting the measurement of diagnostic body parts (the data is used for taxonomic purposes).
Morphometric measurements of the species Bronchocela marmorata were taken using a ruler. For the captured specimen, the following was obtained:
Snout-to-tail 41.5cmHindleg- 9cm
Foreleg- 6cm
Tail- 32cm
Mass- 22.5g
Posted and photos by: Juan Angelo Frejas
We are grateful for the expert help of Dr. Terry Ord (Evolution and Ecology Research Center, Universiy of New South Wales) and Mr. Emerson Sy (Philippine Center for Terrestrial and Aquatic Research) who confirmed the identification of this species.
To learn more about B. marmorata, visit:
International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Red List of Threatened Species
—————Introducing the Lizard Team of the HEDCen HS Senior Batch 2012-2013
From left: Juan Angelo Frejas and Denzi Moraleta processing the lizard specimen.
From Left: Gideon Fajardo and RM Udarbe looking for more lizards.
Tungtong River Conservation Project 
Hello I captured one of this fascinating creatures a Tagaytay and I would like to know what to feed it? I’ve been giving it lots of Veggies and a couple of fruits and some water. Please reply asap she’s looking dry and black (from time to time she does change color, from green to red sometimes green to orange).
Hi Gio,
Thanks for asking us. But I will have to be frank with you. What is your purpose in capturing and keeping the animal? If it is just so you can have a pet then I would have to advise you to set it free. These are wild creatures that are NOT meant to be caged. The exotic pet trade is one of the leading causes of extinction. We captured and kept some lizards in this study but it was done for Science’s sake. Everything we did as absolutely necessary for our quest for knowledge. I hope your reason for keeping the animal caged is along those lines.
Cheers!