Bronchocela smaragdina Günther, 1864

Stuart Ko Sok Thy Neang, Bryan L., 2006, A Collection Of Amphibians And Reptiles From Hilly Eastern Cambodia, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 54 (1), pp. 129-155 : 146

Bronchocela smaragdina Günther

Material examined. - Pichrada: FMNH 262309 , deciduous dipterocarp forest with grassy understorey, near 12°32'12"N 107°32'53"E, 600 m elev., 19 Jun.2000 .

Remarks. – This adult female (SVL 110.5, TAL 365.0) fully agrees with Günther’s (1864) original description, except the ventrolateral stripe was white in life rather than yellow. The specimen has the ventral scales in 12 rows, twice the size of the lateral scales; small, uniform scales between the orbit and tympanum; the fourth toe about 1/4 longer than the third toe; a weak nuchal crest; and no dorsal crest, gular pouch, or fold before the shoulder.

In life, uniformly bright green, with head and venter yellowish-green; white ventrolateral stripe between insertion points of forelimb and hindlimb and on base of tail; brown stripe on posterior surface of thigh; dorsal surface of proximal 1/5 of tail green, lateral surface and distal 4/5 of tail brown with darker flecking; and tympanum brown.

The specimen was collected at dusk (1800 hrs.) on a tree branch 3.5 m above the ground in the forest, away from any body of water. The species is probably arboreal and infrequently observed; the three local hunters present at the time of capture stated that they had never seen this lizard before.

Smith (1935) reported that only three specimens were known: the two female types obtained by Mouhot in Cambodia , and a third specimen obtained by Smith at Dalat on the Langbian Plateau in southern Vietnam.

This is the first report of the species from Cambodia since the original description.