REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 8

REPTILIAN TUESDAY # 8

Man have we found an amazing reptile for today’s Reptilian Tuesday! Have you ever seen a lizard with umbrella shaped skin around its neck? We hadn’t either! It is one wild and crazy guy! Let’s meet…

MEET THE FRILLED LIZARD!

Range/Habitat: South New Guinea and North Australia/woodlands

Diet: Carnivore: insects, small vertebrates, arthropods

Length/Weight: 23 ½”- 32”/ 1 lb

Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Frilled lizards have a flap a skin around their necks. The frill has cartilage (the tissue that makes up your ears and nose) rods in it. It’s sort of like an umbrella around their neck.
• The frill is brightly colored and can be 9 -14” wide when fully spread out.
• Frilled lizards spread their frill out and hiss when threatened by a predator.
• They are arboreal (live in the trees) and are great climbers.
• When on the ground they can run on just two legs!
• Frilled lizards are highly territorial.

Frilled lizards are crazy looking when they spread out their frills! But it is a fantastic adaptation to help protect themselves from predators! We would definitely stay away from a guy like that, wouldn’t you?

Check out this video from the BBC showing them running!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utD66Z5Qb74