Before being moved to Intellagama, what genus housed the Australian Water Dragon?

Physignathus

Prior to the recent refinement in reptile taxonomy, the Australian Water Dragon, *Intellagama lesueurii*, was classified under the genus *Physignathus*. This classification linked it directly to the Asian species, *Physignathus cocincinus*, implying a closer immediate relationship based on shared physical characteristics noted at the time. The historical placement within *Physignathus* demonstrates how scientific understanding evolves; the subsequent reclassification into *Intellagama* reflects new data, likely from genetic sequencing, that supported separating the Australian branch as a distinct genus due to substantial divergence over evolutionary time.