Lizards have an array of unusual traits | ECOVIEWS

Every identifiable group of plants and animals on Earth has a unique combination of body shapes, behaviors and ecology that distinguishes them from all others.

What about the different kinds of reptiles, excluding extinct species? Among modern reptiles, about 4,000 are snakes, 365 are turtles, 24 are crocodilians. Each has its suite of special characteristics setting it apart. Lizards, with a whopping 7,310 living species, are the most diverse.

Some lizards can outrun any other reptile, most running on four legs, many booking it on two when in a hurry. Some are legless. Some readily take to water, whereas Asian flying lizards can flatten their bodies, extend folds of skin on their sides and glide from tree to tree, with recorded distances of 200 feet.

Some lizards in Australia dig corkscrew burrows deep into the earth. The largest lizards, Komodo dragons, are longer than a car, weigh 1/8 of a ton and prey on deer. The smallest lizards can sit on a thumbnail. When you add to these characteristics deadly venom glands for some and three eyes for others, you have an impressive combination of traits claimed by no other group of land animals.

Dinosaurs, of course, hold the record for largest terrestrial animals to have ever lived, but a type of lizard back then was impressive in its own right. About 67 million years ago, when T. rex was stomping around in what is now the western United States, the largest lizards, the carnivorous giant mosasaurs, were swimming around in the ocean. Some of these now extinct lizards have been estimated to be more than 50 feet long. A good era to go swimming without having to worry about great white sharks? Probably not.

With such a large number of species living in myriad habitats across the world, it comes as no surprise that lizards have evolved an amazing array of defenses to protect themselves from predators.

Being difficult to see in their natural habitat is the first line of defense for many prey animals, and some lizards are highly effective at camouflage.

A green anole sitting amid green leaves is a good example. A brown skink scurrying over and under brown leaves can easily be overlooked.

Some resources in lizard arsenals can catch a would-be predator off-guard. Horned toads, which are really lizards not toads, can squirt blood from their eyes. A coyote expecting to have a horned toad snack could be in for a surprise.

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The spined armadillo lizard of South Africa uses its own armor as a defense. It will bite its tail and roll into a spikey ball when attacked.

Biting an attacker is a common defense. A tokay gecko delivers a powerful, painful bite, and the lockjaw technique practiced by the Gila monster of the Southwest assures its venom enters the victim. Finally, rapid flight is the strategy of many lizards, especially those in deserts of the Southwest as they sprint from cactus to cactus.

Numerous other special traits among lizards include those of the marine iguanas of the Galapagos that dive 30 feet beneath the sea to feed on algae growing on rocks and the basilisks of tropical America that can run across the surface of a stream without sinking.

Producing young without prior mating has been documented in lizards in different parts of the world. Among certain species of the southwestern whiptail lizards, no males have ever been found. In the Southeast, females of some of blue-tailed skinks are known to care for their eggs, guarding them from small predators and removing eggs that develop fungus.

Some lizards eat patches of their own skin during shedding.

On the next warm day, go outside and look for lizards. As environmental educator John Byrd says, “The great thing about lizard watching (lizarding versus birding) is you don’t need to rise early — sleep in and pull out your binoculars in the warm part of the day.”

Whit Gibbons is professor of zoology and senior biologist at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. If you have an environmental question or comment, email ecoviews@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Lizards have an array of unusual traits | ECOVIEWS