Mapping The Squamates
Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Those feeling as if there had been something missing in this world can rest easily tonight: A George Washington University (GWU) biologist and a team of researchers have finally finished...
Latest Lizards Stories
Pensoft Publishers Two new woodlizard species have been uncovered from poorly explored areas of the Peruvian jungles. The males have beautiful body coloration with a distinctive green pattern before a dark brown and black background. It is assumed that the two species share the same territory, with only a slight difference in altitude ranges, which makes their biological divergence intriguing from an evolutionary point of view. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys....
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Despite the name, a new species of lizard reported about in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is not related to our President, because it went extinct when the giant asteroid hit Earth millions of years ago. Obamadon gracilis was one of the lizard species that suffered from the asteroid event that ended the reign of the dinosaurs 65.5 million years ago. Previous studies suggested that some snake...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A new study from Duke University shows that one tropical lizard's tolerance for cold is a bit stiffer than scientists had assumed. The Puerto Rican lizard Anolis cristatellus has adapted to the colder winters of Miami, Florida, the study shows. This lizard may also be able to tolerate temperature variations caused by climate change. The results of this study will be published in the December 6 issue of The American Naturalist....
OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Frustrated over the lack of alternative shopping options online, designers Jennifer Heller and Lindsay Gatz have just launched a website to appeal to the right side of the brain. Their new website Gift Chameleon (http://www.giftchameleon.com) aims to please fashionistas, the hard to please, the person with everything, color aficionados, or simply any shopper who wants a happy right brain. "The typical online shopping experience is...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Cats are not the only species in the animal kingdom that have a knack for always finding a way to land on their feet, lizards have it as well. According to the research presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting Friday, lizards swing their tails one way to rotate their body the other. The researchers' findings not only explain how large-tailed animals are able to turn themselves right side up while falling, but also...
A new drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard reduces cravings for food, according to researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg. An increasing number of patients suffering from type 2 diabetes are offered a pharmaceutical preparation called Exenatide, which helps them to control their blood sugar. The drug is a synthetic version of a natural substance called exendin-4, which is obtained from a rather unusual source – the saliva of the Gila...
Jason Farmer for RedOrbit.com In a recent scientific publication, 24 new species of lizards known as skinks, all found on the Caribbean islands, have been discovered and named. Each year, in dozens of scientific publications, approximately 130 new species of reptiles from all over the world are added to the global count. But, since the nineteenth century not more than 20 reptile species have been added at one time in any single publication. The research team responsible for the new...
New research in the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology shows why bigger isn't always better when it comes to sprinting speed. "Typically, bigger animals tend to run faster than smaller animals, because they have longer legs," said Christofer J. Clemente of Harvard University, who led the research. "But this only works up to a point. The fastest land animal is neither the biggest nor the smallest, but something in between. Think about the size of an elephant, a mouse and a...
Named 'mountain dweller', it is the highest-altitude living member of its genus Germán Chávez and Diego Vásquez from the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI) in Peru have discovered a new colorful lizard which they named Potamites montanicola, or "mountain dweller". The new species was found in Cordillera de Vilcabamba and Apurimac river valley, the Cusco Region of Peru at altitude ranging from 1,600 to 2,100 meters. Their study was published in the open access journal...
Researchers have discovered four new species of miniature lizards in Madagascar, including one so small it can easily perch on the tip of your finger or on a match head, report scientists in the upcoming Wednesday issue of the open access journal PLoS ONE. Brookesia micra, the tiniest chameleon ever discovered, grows to just about an inch (30 mm) long from nose to tail. All four species discovered belong to the genus Brookesia, known as leaf chameleons, which already contains some very...
Latest Lizards Reference Libraries
The Desert Iguana, Dipsosaurus dorsalis, is one of the most common lizards of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. They also can be found on several islands in the Gulf of California. Their preferred habitat is largely contained within the range of the creosote bush, mainly dry, sandy desert scrubland below 3300 ft. It can also be found in rocky streambeds up to 3300 ft. In the southern portion of its range this lizard lives in areas of...
The Brown Basilisk or Striped Basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus, is a species of lizard native to Central America, but have been introduced into the wild in the U.S. state of Florida. They are also called the common basilisk and, the "Jesus Lizard" because when it flees from predators it runs very fast and can even run on top of water. Basilisks actually have large hind feet with flaps of skin between each toe. The fact that they move quickly across the water, aided by their web-like feet,...
The Southern Alligator Lizard, Elgaria multicarinata, is a lizard native to the Pacific coast of North America. It is common throughout Southern California and can be found in both grasslands and urban areas. Several subspecies can be distinguished, including the San Diego alligator lizard. It has a prehensile tail up to twice the length of its body. Like many lizards, however, it can drop its tail if attacked, possibly giving it a chance to flee; the tail will regenerate, but will never...
The Beaded Lizard or Mexican Beaded Lizard, Heloderma horridum, is a venomous lizard found in Mexico and the southern United States. Adult Mexican Beaded Lizards range from 13 to 18 inches in length. Until recently, the beaded lizard and the Gila Monster were the only two lizards known to be venomous. Research showed that some iguanas and monitors are also venomous. The beaded lizards' venom is similar to that of some snakes (e.g. the western diamondback rattler).
Chuckwallas (less commonly known as Chuckawallas) are large, bulky lizards found mainly in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, although some are found on coastal islands. There are five species of Chuckwalla, all within the genus Sauromalus; they are part of the iguana family, Iguanidae. The name Chuckwalla derives from the Shoshone word "tcaxxwal" or Cahullia "caxwal", transcribed by Spaniards as "chacahuala". Physical description Reaching a total...
