Draco ochropterus Werner, 1910

Karin, Benjamin R., Stubbs, Alexander L., Arifin, Umilaela, Bloch, Luke M., Ramadhan, G., Iskandar, Djoko T., Arida, Evy, Reilly, Sean B., Kusnadi, Agus & Mcguire, Jimmy A., 2018, The herpetofauna of the Kei Islands (Maluku, Indonesia): Comprehensive report on new and historical collections, biogeographic patterns, conservation concerns, and an annotated checklist of species from Kei Kecil, Kei Besar, Tam, and Kur, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 66, pp. 704-738 : 733

Draco ochropterus Werner, 1910 and D. lineatus Daudin, 1802

We found no evidence for the occurrence of any Draco on the islands we surveyed. We asked many local people if flying lizards were present, but no one provided any indication that they were present. Indeed, many people responded by saying they knew of the species but only had seen them on Seram or Ambon. McGuire et al. (2007) also noted that, during a limited survey in 1998, he did not find flying lizards on the Kei Islands. The male specimens of D. ochropterus were destroyed during WWII ( McGuire et al., 2007) and the remaining female specimens could not be distinguished from D. lineatus from Ambon, Seram, or Buru, so the species was considered a junior synonym of D. lineatus by McGuire et al. (2007). Roux (1910) also exhibited skepticism over the report of Draco by Werner (1910). Roux and Merton spent a total of 5 months surveying in the Kei Islands without finding Draco , and we spent a total of approximately 1.5 months without finding them as well. Given this evidence, we believe the record of D. ochropterus from the Kei Islands is incorrect and that specimens from elsewhere in Maluku may have been erroneously attributed to the Kei Islands. We therefore concur with McGuire et al. (2007) that D. ochropterus is a junior synonym of D. lineatus .