Scientific name:<\/strong> Order Squamata<\/em> (suborder Lacertilia<\/em>) \u2013 over 7,000 species<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Size:<\/strong> Varies enormously \u2013 from 1.6 cm (0.6 inches)<\/strong> [dwarf gecko] to 3 meters (10 feet)<\/strong> [Komodo dragon]<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Appearance:<\/strong> Elongated bodies, four legs (usually), long tails, scaly skin, movable eyelids (except geckos), and external ear openings<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Habitat:<\/strong> Found on every continent except Antarctica \u2013 deserts, rainforests, mountains, grasslands, swamps, and even urban gardens<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Where found:<\/strong> Worldwide except Antarctica. Highest diversity in Australia, South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Diet:<\/strong> Mostly insectivorous<\/strong> (ants, beetles, crickets, spiders). Larger species eat small mammals, birds, eggs, other lizards, and even carrion (Komodo dragon eats deer and water buffalo)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Behavior:<\/strong> Most are diurnal<\/strong> (active by day). Many are territorial \u2013 males display push-ups, head-bobbing, and dewlap extensions (iguanas)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Defense mechanisms:<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Tail autotomy:<\/strong> Shedding tail to distract predators (regrows later)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Flying lizards<\/strong> (Draco<\/em>): Glide using rib-supported wing-like flaps<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Geckos:<\/strong> Sticky toe pads (millions of microscopic hairs) to climb smooth surfaces and even walk upside down on glass<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Chameleons:<\/strong> Independently moving eyes, lightning-fast tongue (longer than body) to catch insects<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Horned lizards:<\/strong> Shoot blood from their eyes to confuse predators<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Reproduction:<\/strong> Most lay eggs (oviparous), some give live birth (viviparous \u2013 common in cold climates). Some species reproduce parthenogenetically<\/strong> (all-female, no males needed)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Lifespan:<\/strong> 2\u201310 years (small species) | 10\u201330 years (large species) | Komodo dragon up to 30 years<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Largest species:<\/strong> Komodo dragon (3 m \/ 10 ft, 70 kg \/ 150 lbs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Smallest species:<\/strong> Dwarf gecko (1.6 cm \/ 0.6 in, 0.1 grams)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Conservation status:<\/strong> Many species are threatened<\/strong> by habitat loss, invasive species, and pet trade<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Status<\/th>
Examples<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Critically Endangered<\/td>
St. Croix ground lizard, Utila iguana<\/td><\/tr>
Endangered<\/td>
Gal\u00e1pagos pink land iguana, Fiji crested iguana<\/td><\/tr>
Vulnerable<\/td>
Komodo dragon, various chameleons<\/td><\/tr>
Least Concern<\/td>
Most geckos, anoles, skinks<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
Biggest threats:<\/strong> Habitat destruction (deforestation for palm oil, agriculture), illegal pet trade, climate change (affects egg incubation temperature that determines sex in many species), invasive predators (cats, rats eating eggs and young)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact 1:<\/strong> A group of lizards is called a “lounge”<\/strong> or “lounge of lizards.”<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact 2:<\/strong> The Komodo dragon<\/strong> has venom glands (discovered in 2009) \u2013 not just bacteria in its mouth as previously believed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact 3:<\/strong> Geckos can cling to surfaces because of van der Waals forces<\/strong> \u2013 millions of microscopic hair-like structures (setae) that create molecular attraction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact 4:<\/strong> The thorny devil<\/strong> (Australia) collects water on its spiky body and channels it to its mouth using capillary action.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact 5:<\/strong> Several lizard species are parthenogenetic<\/strong> (all-female). The New Mexico whiptail reproduces entirely without males.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact 6:<\/strong> The green basilisk lizard<\/strong> runs on water \u2013 called the “Jesus Christ lizard” \u2013 for up to 5 meters (15 feet) before sinking.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact 7:<\/strong> Some lizards can live without food for months (slow metabolism). Gila monsters store fat in their tails.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Region Examples Americas Iguanas, anoles, Gila monster, collared lizards Australia Goannas (monitors), bearded dragons, skinks, geckos Africa Chameleons, geckos, skinks, monitor lizards Asia Draco lizards (flying), tokay geckos, water monitors Europe Wall lizards, slow worms (legless), geckos Status Examples Critically Endangered St. Croix ground lizard, Utila iguana Endangered Gal\u00e1pagos pink land iguana, Fiji crested iguana […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203,"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201\/revisions\/203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offsecplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}