The lizard is green with black spots. Blue-tongued skink - a large lizard: description, lifestyle, habitat

The bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) is a lizard that even a novice terrariumist can keep. Nature has endowed this creature with amazing appearance and sufficient unpretentiousness for living at home. The bearded dragon is native to the Australian continent. At one time, the Australian authorities very strictly controlled the export of representatives of the local fauna, but nevertheless, relatives of the agama found their way beyond the mainland and began to successfully breed in other territories that were quite suitable for their living conditions. The bearded agama is amazing not only for its appearance, but also for its name directly associated with it. Latin word Pogona in translation just means the presence of a beard, and vitticeps has an even more bizarre meaning - “headband made of bulbs.” So Latin name lizard indicates the presence of leathery spines around the ears, head and throat of the agama. These spikes imitate a beard. Because of this feature, the British even nicknamed the agama a bearded dragon - central bearded dragon. And one more unique ability bearded dragon - change color when the lizard is scared or anxious. In this state, the bearded dragon becomes lighter in color and its paws take on a bright yellow or orange hue. The color of a lizard can also change depending on the ambient temperature.

Agama tree

Already from the name of the tree agamas of the species Agama atricollis it is clear that nature has probably adapted these lizards to woody image life. And above all, she gave them a patronizing connotation. Try to spot a tree agama in the lush greenery of an African tropical forest - you are unlikely to succeed. Its variable brownish, olive or green body easily blends with foliage or tree bark, and its elongated shape can resemble anything - a protruding branch, a growth on a trunk, or a piece of the same bark. The sharp claws of the tree agama help it deftly move through the trees. But there are also atypical representatives of Agama atricollis, for example, with a bright blue head. By the way, such lizards are also excellent camouflages. Despite their mistrust and not the easiest taming, they like to keep tree agamas in terrariums. True, this is only possible if they are provided with suitable conditions - temperature, humidity, food. Tree agamas are quite capricious creatures and can easily wither away if something environment It will be “not to their liking”, that is, not for their health. And don’t expect devotion and affection from the lizard; it is not easy to make contact and at first may be afraid of its owners, and after getting used to it, ignore it.

Bengal monitor lizard

The Bengal monitor lizard (Varanus bengalensis) is a reptile that has a body size of up to 2 meters, as a rule, on average it does not exceed 170 cm. These animals have a slender body and a narrow, noticeably pointed head in front. Their tail is of moderate length, laterally compressed and has a low double keel along its upper edge. The body of monitor lizards is dark olive in color, covered on top with numerous specks and round spots. yellow. They are transverse rows. Adult representatives of this species are uniformly colored yellow, brownish-olive or brownish-gray, on which faintly distinguishable dark spots.

Cape monitor lizard

The Cape monitor lizard is also called the Bosca monitor lizard or the steppe monitor lizard (lat.Varanus exanthematicus) is a species of reptile from the monitor lizard family. This name of this species is erroneous, since this animal does not live in the Cape Mountains, but since it was first brought to Europe and described from South Africa, this name has stuck to it to this day.
Subspecies of this lizard are not distinguished. However, some herpetologists in their works provide a description of 4 subspecies, based on their habitat, but almost all taxonomists have recognized them as invalid, and consider the species to be integral.
These animals as adults have a body length with a tail of 80–110 cm and up to 2 meters. Their body is atypical for monitor lizards, as it is quite heavy, but fully corresponds to the life activity that the animal leads. That is, it is aimed at endurance of the body and saving vital energy, and not at climbing trees and diving in water.
Cape monitor lizards have a short body and muzzle; it has obliquely set nostrils, shaped like slits, located very close to the eyes. These animals have short fingers with very large claws. The lizard's body is covered with small scales, the tail is laterally compressed and has a double ridge on the upper edge. The color of these reptiles is gray-brown with yellow stripes and spots. The underside of the monitor lizard's body is lighter than the back, the throat is yellowish-white, and the tail has brown and yellow rings.

Komodo dragon

The Komodo dragon gets its name from its habitat on the small island of Komodo in eastern Indonesia, where it was described as a separate species in 1912. These reptiles have remained virtually unchanged over the past 2 million years. They take their origin from ancient snakes, having inherited a poisonous gland from them.
Komodo dragons are the most large reptiles on Earth. Their sizes can reach up to 3 meters in length and weigh 150 kg. Wild monitor lizards are significantly smaller in size than their relatives kept in captivity.
Juveniles of the described species are quite brightly colored. On top they are a beautiful light chestnut color, which smoothly turns into green-yellow on the nape and neck, and carrot-orange on the shoulders and back. According to these colors, reddish-orange spots and rings are located in transverse rows on the animal’s body, which can merge into continuous stripes on the neck and tail. Over time, the coloring of monitor lizards changes to a monotonous dark brown color, which can sometimes have dirty yellow specks.

Monitor lizard of the Nile

The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) is another of the huge number of lizards.
These animals can reach up to 2 meters in length, although such individuals are very rare. As a rule, the body size of a monitor lizard is 1.7 meters, of which 1 meter is the tail. In reptiles of this species, the tail is flattened on the sides and is equipped with a longitudinal keel (ridge) on top. There are no longitudinal rows of wide scales above the eyes on the head, the nostrils are round and set closer to leading edge eyes. The teeth of monitor lizards are cone-shaped in front and have blunt crowns in the back.
The body color of lizards is a dark yellowish-green, against which there is a beautiful pattern of irregular transverse stripes formed by small yellow specks and spots. Between the shoulders and groin there are horseshoe-shaped yellow spots, and in front of the shoulders there is a black semicircular stripe. The color of the tail in its lower part is yellow with transverse stripes, and the first part of the tail has yellow-green rings.

Striped monitor lizard

The striped monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) is a species of animal that belongs to the class of reptiles. It has many names, depending on where it is distributed. On the island of Bali, striped monitor lizards are called "Alyu", and on the island of Flores - "Weti". In other areas of Malaysia and Indonesia, these animals are called "Biawak air" by the local population. In Thailand they are called nothing more than “Khiah”, but the term “Tua-nguyen-tua-tong” is more often used. In Sri Lanka, striped monitor lizards are called "Karabaragoya", while in Bengal they are called "Ram godhika", "Pani godhi" or "Pani goisap". In the Philippines, these monitor lizards are called "Halo", but the most commonly used name is "Bayawak".

Gray monitor lizard

The gray monitor lizard (Varanus griseus) is a representative of the suborder of lizards of the reptile class. The size of an adult animal, including its tail, can reach a length of 150 cm and a weight of up to 3.5 kg. The body of this animal is massive, equipped strong legs with curved claws on the fingers. Just like most monitor lizards gray monitor lizard very strong and long rounded tail. The color of the scales blends into the surrounding background, which is good remedy for shelter from enemies and for catching prey, because not every animal is able to recognize the grayish-brown body of an animal with a reddish tint, which is hidden on the steppe plain. The lizard has dark spots and dots scattered throughout its body, and almost parallel stripes of the same color run across its back and tail. On the head of the reptile there are curved nostrils that open near the eyes. This anatomical structure will make it easier for the animal to explore burrows, since the nostrils are not clogged with sand. The gray monitor lizard is strong and long; the mouth contains sharp, slightly curved teeth that help hold the victim. Throughout the life of the animal, they are erased and replaced with new ones.

Madagascar day gecko

Among the representatives tropical fauna there are so many truly beautiful animals, often with amazingly vibrant colors. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that the nature of the tropics itself is distinguished by a riot of colors. For example, in tropical latitudes there are exotic birds painted in incredible shades, as well as exotic lizards, one of which will be discussed in this article. The Madagascar day gecko (Phelsuma madagascariensis) deserves to be known not only to herpetologists and avid terrarium keepers. Although among lovers of exotic reptiles he is rightly called a veteran of terrariums. What makes the Madagascar day gecko so unusual? First of all, it is the bright color of the body. Moreover, the colors that nature gave to this lizard are unlikely to find analogues among the shades artificially created by man. The Madagascar day gecko's body is a rich velvet green contrasted with large bright red spots along its back. Moreover different representatives species can have variable colors, for example, being green-blue with several small red splashes or pure green with a red stripe on the back. The Madagascar gecko is named a diurnal gecko in accordance with the circadian rhythms of its life. The lizard, as the name implies, lives only in Madagascar and belongs to the felsum genus endemic to this island. By the way, one of the most common and largest subspecies of the Madagascar day gecko is called the magnificent Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis for its amazing appearance.

Madagascar gecko

The Madagascar flat-tailed gecko, along with the common gecko, is one of the celebrities of the tropical fauna due to its amazing appearance. He has unique feature change body color depending on ambient temperature and lighting. In the sun, the Madagascar gecko is deep green, but in the shade it can easily turn olive, brown, or even lose its greenery and put on a gray outfit. In bright sunlight, the lizard's body takes on a lemon tint, but if you look at it against the light, the gecko is already aquamarine with a deep tail. blue color. This lizard is named flat-tailed for its tail, which is wide and flattened at the top and bottom with jagged edges. And although the flat-tailed gecko is also classified as a Madagascar species, its habitat is not limited only to this island. Broad-tailed lizards are also found in the Seychelles and Hawaii, although scientists believe that the reptiles were introduced there, while Madagascar is their natural homeland. Madagascar flat-tailed geckos are smaller in size than common day geckos, but otherwise they have similar characteristics. Which ones exactly – read in the relevant sections. And of course, these lizards, like day geckos, are popular “exhibits” of terrarium collections. But in order for the flat-tailed gecko to always be vigorous, healthy and bright, it is especially necessary to maintain a suitable level of moisture in the environment. But for ordinary day geckos this is not the most important indicator.

Lizards are reptiles with a wide variety of species. Photos of the most different lizards and you can find out a description of their life by reading this article.

To date, scientists have established that lizards are the largest group among the class Reptiles (Reptiles). Very often we call lizards those who are not lizards at all. We are accustomed to the fact that lizards are all representatives of reptiles that run on four legs and have long tail. But you will be surprised to learn that scientists classify as lizards mainly only representatives of the family True lizards, and the rest are similar to them: agamas, skinks, monitor lizards, and geckos - a completely different group.

Let's take a closer look at real lizards. These reptiles are of medium size, although there are also very small species among them. Basically, the body length of lizards reaches from 20 to 40 cm. And only the pearl lizard can grow up to 80 centimeters. But separate group in the family of true lizards, called foot-and-mouth disease, measures about 10 centimeters.

True lizards differ from their own kind (other reptiles) by movable eyelids. For example, snakes cannot boast of such an eye structure, because their eyelids are fused. All lizards have an oblong body and a long narrow tail. One more distinctive feature Lizards have a natural ability for autotomy. What is it? This is a famous one that even small children know about! In general, the scientific justification for the term autotomy sounds like a disposition to “self-mutilation,” i.e. intentional self-harm.

No, don’t think about it, lizards do such tricks not out of idleness and boredom! Only hopelessness and approaching death when meeting an enemy can force a lizard to break its spine and throw away its tail, which, by the way, will wriggle for some time as if alive, distracting the predator and misleading it. At this time, the lizard itself, almost whole, but alive, quickly disappears out of sight.

The color of lizards is always a combination of several shades: brown, green and gray. But depending on the habitat and climatic zones, lizards may have skin that is yellow, for example. And some types are even decorated with incredibly bright shades: red, azure, blue.

Sexual dimorphism in these reptiles is very weak, so it is almost impossible to distinguish a male lizard from a female lizard with the naked eye, unless you are a professional zoologist. Scientists have found that lizards do not have vocal cords and therefore are always silent, but in nature there are no exceptions, right? That is why there is a “vocal” lizard on Earth, which is called the Lizard of Stechlin and Simon; this reptile lives on Canary Islands. When danger overtakes her, she makes something like a squeak.

Today, representatives of real lizards inhabit Europe, Africa and partly Asia. But you will not find them in Madagascar, in the southern regions of Asia and on island territories in Indian Ocean. But, having once been brought to the lands of the United States, the lizards happily took root there and successfully reproduced. True lizards prefer forests, bushes, steppes, semi-deserts, meadows, mountainous areas, gardens, river banks and even cliffs as biotopes. They are not afraid of heights and steep slopes, because these reptiles move equally well in both horizontal and vertical planes.

Lizards are most active during daylight hours. Their diet consists of invertebrate animals, but sometimes the lizard can encroach on a small rodent or snake, and the most desperate ones even eat bird eggs. But most often these reptiles eat spiders, butterflies, locusts, snails, slugs, worms, grasshoppers and other small inhabitants of our fauna.

Legless lizards and snakes seem the same, but this is only at first glance. It turns out that there are a number of differences between these reptiles. In what ways do they differ? What types legless lizards are the most common? Read about this in the article.

Brief description

The legless lizards that will be discussed in this article look like snakes. They are missing limbs. Their eyelids are movable. These reptiles lead an underground lifestyle: they spend most of their time in the ground. With the help of a shovel-like head, as well as thanks to specific body movements, they make numerous passages in loose soil. Legless lizards feed on insects and invertebrate organisms.

These reptiles are ovoviviparous. At one time, a female can bring several cubs, most often no more than four. Lizards reach sexual maturity at three years.

Differences from snakes

When people encounter a legless lizard, they most often mistake it for a poisonous snake and try to kill the animal. Of course, reptiles have similarities: both legless lizards and snakes move by wriggling their bodies. However, if you look closely, you can find several pronounced differences between the two types of reptiles. Let's look at the difference using the example of two lizards: the spindle and the yellow-bellied lizard.

Firstly, they have movable eyelids, while in snakes they are fused, thereby forming a transparent protective layer over the eyes. Lizards have an ear opening, which is located behind the organs of vision. Snakes do not have it.

Secondly, the head and body are fastened differently in reptiles. If the spindle and the yellow-bellied do not have any narrowings in the neck area, then in snakes they are clearly pronounced.

In lizards, the left and right parts of the jaws are connected more rigidly, in addition, these animals have a shoulder girdle.

What lizards are common in Russia?

Legless lizards live in many parts of the planet. Several species of these animals are found in Russia. In the European part of our country, as well as in the Caucasus, the spindle is common. In the south of the state you can stumble upon a yellowbell.

Spindle

has a beautiful appearance. Its scales are very smooth and shiny. It is painted brown, brown or dark gray with a bronze tint. Males have small blue spots on their backs. In captivity, reptiles molt in about a month.

The legless lizard (spindle) feeds on mollusks, earthworms and insect larvae. It holds prey with sharp teeth bent back. Thanks to this, slippery worms and slugs remain in the reptile's mouth. The lizard absorbs food in the following way: it swallows slowly, moving its head in different sides. If the worm grabs onto something and does not leave the earthen hole, then the spindle straightens its body and begins to rotate in one direction. In this way, she tears off part of the prey. When eating snails, the reptile slowly pulls the mollusk out of its shelter, first resting its head against the mouth of the shell.

Brittle spindle

The spindle family includes a huge number of species. There are more than a hundred of them in total. General characteristics spindles have already been presented in this article. Now we will talk about one of the most prominent representatives of the family - the brittle spindle. By the way, the legless snake-like lizard and the spindle are not the same thing. There is a big difference between them: for example, spindles have auditory openings and temporal arches.

The length of these reptiles reaches 45 centimeters. Two thirds of their body is a flexible, movable tail. At the same time, the border between the body and the tail is almost invisible to the naked eye. The scales of the animal are reinforced with bone plates. Typically, spindles have gray or brown with a coppery sheen. However, there are also albino individuals, as well as melanists, whose color is completely black. The cubs were once mistakenly classified as a separate species, because in early age their color divides the body into two halves: chocolate and golden. You can meet brittle spindle in the forests. Sometimes she crawls into fields and gardens. In addition, this reptile can swim, so occasionally it appears near bodies of water.

Yellow Tummy

The legless yellow-bellied lizard also has another name - capercaillie. This reptile is large, its length is one and a half meters. The yellow-bellied lizard is not exactly a legless lizard. The remains of the limbs are represented by two claws located along the edges of the cloaca. They are most pronounced in adult males. The reptiles belong to the genus Armored spindles.

The appearance of lizards is as follows: they have long body, protected by fused scales. They perform the function of a shell. Skin folds run along the sides of the body. There are two of them in total. They simplify the life of lizards, facilitate their breathing and provide elasticity to the shell when eating large pieces of food. The color of the body can be brown and yellowish, often red blotches appear on it. It is easy to determine the age of a lizard by the color of its shell: individuals that are not yet a year old have a striped coloration, represented by dark stripes against a brown-yellow background.

Distribution of yellowbellies

This species of legless lizards is common on the southern coast of Crimea, in the territory Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Caucasus, Syria, Israel, Iran and Iraq. Most often, when people come across this animal, they confuse it with a medium-sized snake. The Yellow Tummy tries to avoid conflict and hides in the grass first. However, some individuals are still injured or even killed.

Yellowbellies live in various areas. They feel comfortable on forest edges and rocky slopes, on river banks and in the steppes. These lizards are not at all afraid of people, which is why they can be found in vineyards and orchards. They feed on terrestrial animals, most often insects, as well as plants. They wait out the winter under stones, tree roots, and in shelters like rodent burrows. As soon as the air temperature warms up to +16 degrees Celsius in spring, yellowbellies become active again. They are typical diurnal lizards. Their activity peaks in the morning and early evening. On very hot days they may return to their shelters and hibernate.

California lizard

The California legless lizard is not very large. Its worm-like body reaches a length of only 25 centimeters, and this is the maximum. Upper part the body is colored in a grayish-olive or brownish tint. Some subspecies are dark brown or even black in color. The underside is usually yellow and the head is dark. In young individuals, three longitudinal lines on the body are clearly visible.

This reptile is common on the California coast. For this, the lizard got its name. You can also meet her in San Francisco. It makes passages in the ground at a depth of 10-15 centimeters. Settles most often in areas with sparse vegetation and sandy soil. However, this does not mean that it cannot be found in the rocks. Tree trunks lying on the ground, voids under stones - the lizard uses all these places as shelters.

The food for the California lizard is soil insects, their larvae, spiders and various arthropods. She mines them underground. The reptile also hunts on the surface of the soil, detecting the location of prey by smell and quickly grabbing it with its head sticking out of the sand.

Lizards (lat. Lacertilia, formerly Sauria)- a suborder of the squamate order of the class of reptiles.

The suborder of lizards is not a biologically clearly defined category, but includes all those species that do not belong to the other two suborders of squamates - snakes and moths. Snakes are probably descendants of varanoid lizards and, according to biological principles, can also be considered lizards, but are conditionally classified as a separate suborder. In total there are over 4,300 species of lizards.

Unlike snakes, most lizards (with the exception of some legless forms) have more or less developed limbs. Although legless lizards are similar in appearance to snakes, they retain their sternum, and most retain limb girdles; unlike snakes, the left and right halves of the jaw apparatus are motionlessly fused. A characteristic feature of the suborder is also incomplete ossification of the anterior part of the braincase and no more than two sacral vertebrae.

The lizards have dry, scaly skin, four clawed limbs and a long tail.

Lizards move mainly on land, but some can swim and even almost fly.

Lizards have very well developed vision; many see the world in color.

As for size, there are chameleons or geckos whose length does not exceed a few centimeters, and there are also giants, for example, the length of a monitor lizard can approach three or more meters.

In legless lizards, the eyes, as a rule, are equipped with movable separate eyelids, while in snakes the eyelids are fused, forming transparent “lenses” in front of the eyes. They also differ in a number of other features, such as the structure and structure of the scales.

Many species of lizards are capable of throwing off part of their tail (autotomy). After some time, the tail is restored, but in a shortened form. During autotomy, special muscles compress the blood vessels in the tail, and almost no bleeding occurs.

Most lizards are predators. Small and average size the species feed mainly on various invertebrates: insects, arachnids, mollusks, worms. Large predatory lizards (monitor lizards, tegus) attack small vertebrates: other lizards, frogs, snakes, small mammals and birds, and also eat the eggs of birds and reptiles. The largest modern lizard is komodo dragon(Varanus komodoensis) - attacks large animals such as deer, wild pigs and Asian buffalo. Some carnivorous species of lizards are stenophages, that is, they specialize in eating a specific type of food. For example, the moloch (Moloch horridus) feeds only on ants, and the pink-tongued skink (Hemisphaeriodon gerrardii) in nature eats exclusively terrestrial mollusks.

Some large iguanas, agamidae and skink lizards are completely or almost completely herbivorous. These species eat fruits, leaves, young shoots and flowers of plants.

Among lizards there are many omnivorous species that use both animal and plant foods (for example, blue-tongued skinks, many agamas). Madagascar day geckos, in addition to insects, readily eat nectar and pollen. As for reproduction, most lizards lay eggs, but there are also viviparous ones. Maternal instinct is alien to insidious reptiles. Almost all types of lizards, after the birth of their offspring, stop worrying about them.

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordata
Class: Reptiles
Order: Scaly
Suborder: Lizards

The suborder of lizards has 6 infraorders with 37 families:

• Infraorder Iguania - Iguanas
• Family Agamidae - Agamidae
• Family Chamaeleonidae - Chameleons
• Family Corytophanidae
• Family Crotaphytidae - Collared iguanas
• Family Dactyloidae
• Family Hoplocercidae
• Family Iguanidae - Iguanaidae
• Family Leiocephalidae - Masked iguanas
• Family Leiosauridae
• Family Liolaemidae
• Family Opluridae
• Family Phrynosomatidae
• Family Polychrotidae - Anoliaceae
• Family Tropiduridae
• Infraorder Gekkota - Gecko-like
• Family Gekkonidae - Geckos
• Family Carphodactylidae
• Family Diplodactylidae
• Family Eublepharidae
• Family Phyllodactylidae
• Family Sphaerodactylidae
• Family Pygopodidae - Scalepods
• Infraorder Scincomorpha - Skinks
• Family Cordylidae - Belttails
• Family Gerrhosauridae - Gerrosauridae
• Family Gymnophthalmidae
• Family Teiidae
• Family Lacertidae - True lizards
• Family Scincidae - Skinids
• Family Xantusiidae - Night lizards
• Infraorder Diploglossa - Fusiformes
• Family Anguidae - Veretenitaceae
• Family Anniellidae - Legless lizards
• Family Xenosauridae - Xenosaurs
• Infrasquad Dibamia
• Family Dibamidae - Worm-like lizards
• Infraorder Varanoidea - Monitor lizards (Platynota)
• Family Helodermatidae - Venomtooths
• Family Lanthanotidae - Earless monitor lizards
• Family Varanidae - Monitor lizards
• Family † Mosasauridae - Mosasaurs
• Superfamily Shinisauroidea
• Family Shinisauridae

Lizards.

Lizards and snakes form the order Squamate (the body of these reptiles is covered with small scales).
There is such a variety of lizards in nature that for simplicity we can say that “lizards” are all scaly ones, except snakes.

Paleontologists have found the remains of the oldest herbivorous lizard in Japan. The age of the discovered jaw and fragments of its skull is 130 million years! The lizard reached 25-30 cm in length.

Most lizards are predators. In nature, small and medium-sized lizards feed mainly on various insects, worms, and small vertebrates. More large lizards They eat larger prey - fish, amphibians, snakes or other lizards, birds and their eggs, and various mammals.

By the way, lizards, even as they age, retain their teeth, which fall out and are replaced by new ones throughout their lives.

Reproduction of lizards.

Most lizards lay eggs. Lizard eggs usually have a thin, leathery shell. Number of eggs various types can range from 1-2 to several dozen. Females always lay eggs in the most secluded places - in cracks, under snags, etc. As a rule, after laying eggs, lizards do not return to them.

The smallest of the lizards is the round-toed gecko from India, only 33 mm long and weighing about 1 gram.

And the largest is the Komodo dragon from Indonesia, which can reach 3 m in length and weigh 135 kg.

Despite the widespread belief that many lizards are poisonous, there are only two such species and they live in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Their poison is dangerous to humans, but non-lethal. In the picture - POISON TOOTH HOUSING.

The scales of lizards can be both small and large; they can be located close to each other (like tiles) or overlapping (like tiles). Sometimes they are transformed into spines or ridges. All lizards molt periodically, shedding their outer layer of skin.

The limbs of lizards are designed differently, depending on the lifestyle of the species and the surface of the substrate on which it usually moves.

In many climbing forms, such as anoles, geckos and some skinks, the lower surface of the fingers is expanded into a pad covered with setae - branched hair-like outgrowths of the outer layer of the skin. These bristles catch on the slightest irregularities in the substrate, which allows the animal to move along a vertical surface and even upside down.

There are lizards that are completely legless! Only a specialist can distinguish such a lizard from a snake - they have different skeletal structures. So, if you encounter an unfamiliar legless scaly creature, it’s better to play it safe and don’t pick up the “lizard” in case it turns out to be a real snake!

Lizards are attacked by almost all animals that can grab and defeat them. These are snakes birds of prey, mammals and humans. Lizards have several methods of protecting themselves from predators. If you get too close to some lizards, they will take on a threatening pose. For example, Australian frilled lizard suddenly opens its mouth and raises a wide bright collar formed by a fold of skin on the neck. Helps! Obviously, the effect of surprise plays a role in scaring off enemies.

MOLOCH looks very inedible - a bizarre-looking lizard that lives in sandy deserts in the south and west of Australia.

AGAMA FLYING DRAGON is capable of gliding, escaping from a predator, spreading the leathery folds along the sides of the body, like a flying squirrel, supported by long false ribs.

LATEST NEWS!

IN main secret lizards infiltrated by zoologists at the University of Michigan
The exact answer has been given intriguing question: Why do these nimble creatures cast off their tails? Previously, everyone thought that in this way reptiles pay off predators, throw them a distracting piece of meat in the hope of saving everything else.

Now it turns out that by unfastening their tail, lizards protect themselves from snake bites. Research took place in Greece. On islands infested with vipers, scientists have counted many more tailless lizards than in places where there are no snakes. Long-term observations have shown that the deliberate loss of part of the flesh does not bring salvation in fights with birds and animals, but is unusually effective against snakes. In case of a bite, the poison from the tail does not spread throughout the body.

Until the body recovers, the lizard suffers many inconveniences: it is difficult to move, growth slows down. But most importantly, relatives look with disdain and refuse to continue the family line with the disabled person.