There are 6263 species of lizards found in the world, out of which 3 species of lizards are poisonous; These species are the Gila monster (Heloderma supectum), the Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum) and the Komodo dragon. Their poison is so dangerous that the death of a person is certain on their bite and at the same time there is severe pain also.
- Lizards are found on every continent except Antarctica, it is so cold on Antarctica that it is impossible for the lizard to survive there.
- The size of the lizard can range from 1.6 cm to 11 feet depending on the species. Some lizards can weigh up to 166 kg. The lifespan of a lizard varies from 1 year to 30 years depending on the species.
- A male lizard is called a bull while female is called cow or lizardess. A herd of lizards is called a lounge.
- The world's largest lizard is the Komodo dragon, whose length is from 10 to 11 feet and its weight is up to 150 kg. This lizard is found on the Komodo, Rinka, Flores, and Gili Motang islands of Indonesia. It is so powerful that even large animals cannot escape from their grip when they attack. Their jaws are very strong and the saliva coming out of their mouth is also very poisonous. They often attack humans as well and even kill them.
- Some species of lizards look exactly like snakes because their legs are so short that it may not be seen if they are not looked at carefully. In this misunderstanding, people often misunderstand these lizards as snakes. The best way to differentiate between these two is to observe them carefully if they have pupils and visible ears on their eyes then they are lizards, not snakes.
- Like turtles and crocodiles, the sex of lizards is determined according to the temperature of the environment. The female is formed by incubating the egg at a low temperature, while the male emerges from it when the egg develops at a high temperature.
- Most species of lizards are quadrupedal, that is, when they walk or run, they have all four legs in the air at the same time.
- Lizards are also herbivorous and carnivorous depending on the species. Some of them eat mammals, birds and crawling insects. While some eat only flowers, leaves and fruits. Most lizards eat insects, crickets, flies, and grasshoppers and their long and sticky tongue helps in catching these creatures.
- You must have seen the lizard taking out the tongue again and again, in fact, they do it for smell. In this way, by taking out the tongue, they taste the air around them and smell it. This lets them know about the dangers and other creatures around them.
- Do you know that lizard teeth come back every time they break? However, not all of their species have this ability.
- Knowing this thing about the lizard, you will surely be surprised that as long as the lizard remains alive, its body size keeps on increasing. Whenever they grow, then they shed the upper part of their skin and with time, it comes again according to the enlarged body.
- Lizard is dumb since birth, that is, it cannot make a sound because it does not have a vocal card in its body. They use body language to talk to each other. The Gecko Lizard is the only lizard that has a vocal cord.
- There are also some lizards that spray blood from their eyes to protect themselves from predators or to scare other creatures at the time of danger. Such lizards have a small horn near the eye, with the help of that they are able to do this. This torrent of blood coming out of their eyes can go up to a distance of 4 feet.
- When there is a lack of water to drink around, the lizard only takes the salt out of its body to save water in the body. That is why many times a white substance appears on the body of the lizard, which is actually salt.
- Lizards are the easiest prey of large carnivorous animals, that is why they have adopted many methods to protect and hide themselves over time. There are some lizards that hide from predators by changing the color of their skin according to the color of their environment. At the time of danger, some make their body color so bright that the hunter runs away in fear.
- To protect itself, the lizard also adopts a unique method, which is called autotomy. In this process, when caught by an enemy, the lizard separates its own tail to free itself. Although after some time its tail grows again but it remains a little thinner than the old one.
- Some lizards have thick and sharp thorns on their body which protect them from enemies. There are also some who run away by rolling their body like a ball at the time of danger, so that even if the hunter attacks, then their sensitive parts can be saved.
- Some species of lizards lay eggs while some give birth directly to young. There are also more than 50 such species in which the female conceives herself and gives birth to a child without having a relationship with the male. This happens in those species in which the male population is very less.
- There are many such lizards in America that can walk on water, but they can do this only when they are small, their ability ends when they grow up.
- Lizards do not have any external ears like humans, but their ear hole definitely opens outwards and the rest part is covered under their skin. They hear better than snakes but do not hear as well as humans can hear.
- The Dracos lizard can glide from place to place. Their fore and hind legs are connected by a thin cuticle membrane, so that the body acts like a parachute and it makes possible for them to glide. Sometimes these lizards are also called flying dragons.
- The ancient Greeks and Egyptians considered the lizard a symbol of wisdom, intelligence and luck, that is why lizards are depicted with great respect in all the lizard paintings or artifacts found at that time.
- Many types of lizards do not need to live near water to survive, they absorb as much water from their food as they need to survive.
- Some lizards spend their whole life without drinking water.
- Some lizards can store up to 60% of their entire body fat in their tails.
- Due to the slow metabolic rate of Komodo dragon lizards, they can survive on very little food only. They can survive by eating food only 12 times in a year. They take 15 to 20 minutes to swallow their food and after that they have to sunbathe to digest it.
- Basilisk lizards found in Mexico, Central America and South America are also very large in size. Because of their ability to walk on water, they are called 'Jesus Christ Lizards'. Adult lizards can walk up to 5 meters on water before drowning, while children can walk up to 20 meters on water. This lizard stays near the water most of the time and goes into the water as soon as it feels any danger.
- If there is no water source nearby, the basilisk lizard enters the sand when it senses a danger. Their nose is surrounded by a special ring of muscles that does not allow sand to enter into their nose.
- Some lizards that run away by separating their tail from their body in times of danger, they come back to that place after the enemy has left. Many nutrients of their body are stored in their tail, so after returning there they eat their tail so that they can get those nutrients again. Source
- Thorny Devil Lizard never drinks water in her life, rather she absorbs the moisture of the environment from the thorns made on her body and converts it into water and uses it for herself. Source
- Lace monitor lizard lays its eggs in a termite mound, then the termites seal the eggs at a constant temperature. After 9 months, the lizard digs that mound again and takes out its eggs and later incubates it. Source
- Most lizards cannot do both running and breathing together. Source
- Texas Spinny lizards compete in push ups among themselves for dominance in the territory. Source
- Lizards also have a third eye which is very small and looks like only a hole and is located between the two main eyes. This eye acts like a photoreceptor that detects sunlight and tells the lizard's brain whether it is day time or night even if both of its main eyes are closed at that time. Source
- Australian sleepy lizard lives whole life with only one life partner and if one's partner dies then the other becomes very sad and spends the whole life alone. Source
- Shingleback Lizard gives birth to a baby by not laying an egg. Her babies are about 35% of their mother's weight at birth. Giving birth to such a big child is the same way a human woman gives birth to a 7-year-old child. Source
Comments
Post a Comment