Harpesaurus modiglianii, also known commonly as Modigliani's nose-horned lizard, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Draconinae of the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Indonesia.
Once only known from the holotype, a single specimen collected from North Sumatra in 1891, the species was rediscovered after a living population of the species was sighted in 2018.
Etymology The specific name, modiglianii, is honor of Italian zoologist Elio Modigliani. xiii + 296 pp.
Geographic distribution Harpesaurus modiglianii is indigenous to northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of Harpesaurus modiglianii is forest.
Description The holotype specimen of Harpesaurus modiglianii is a male, and the preservation process had caused it to turn blue. The discovery of live specimens in 2018 revealed that the species is naturally a luminous green colour in life.
H. modiglianii has a sickle-shaped upturned nasal appendage. Not including this appendage, the holotype has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , and a tail length of . Its nasal appendage is long, roughly as long as the head.Vinciguerra (1933).
Reproduction Harpesaurus modiglianii is oviparous.
References
Further reading 512 pp. (Harpesaurus modiglianii, p. 193). (in German). Vinciguerra D (1933). "Descrizione di una nuova specie di Harpesaurus di Sumatra". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria 56: 355–357. (Harpesaurus modiglianii, new species). (in Italian).