Lizards are actually very interesting animals, quickly scuttling across the surface. Find out all about them in this informative article!

Lizards are a unique type of animal, living across the globe as thousands of different species. Each type has special traits and adaptations, and they can come with frills, horns, wings, scales and much more! Many lizards share the fact that they have four legs, but some scuttle around with just two and others manage with none.

Technically, “lizards” are not a scientific group. They actually are part of the larger group Squamata, which snakes are also categorized under. Several mini-groups are within the Squamata, and this includes lizards.

Many view these scaled reptiles as a modern form of dinosaurs, but to be extra technical, they’re not. The way the internal organs are structured makes their resulting movement different to dinosaurs. Instead of their legs being sprawled out like lizards, dinosaurs have an upright posture with their legs under them.

Lizards have, however, been around for millennia and have survived through many events that have caused mass destruction (like the asteroid strike that caused the extinction of many dinosaurs). Experts have said it’s likely lizards were around even before dinosaurs - based on extensive research, the first lizards were probably around 260 million years ago.

Lizards come in many colors, many textures and many sizes. The largest known lizard is the Komodo dragon, living wild in Indonesia. On average, most Komodo dragons weigh about 70kg, which is about 154lbs. The longest Komodo dragon ever seen was 10.3 feet long (a bit more than three meters), according to a national zoo in Washington, D.C.

Whilst it’s easy to spot that Komodo dragons are the largest lizard, since some lizards can get so tiny it’s hard for humans to judge which is smaller. In 2001, the smallest lizard was the Jaragua lizard, which was less than an inch long, excluding the tail length. When the study that revealed this was first published, Jaragua lizards were smaller than any bird or mammal on Earth.

However, in 2021 scientists discovered an even smaller lizard, which was a chameleon called Brookesia nana. The Jaragua lizard is about 0.6 of an inch long, whilst this chameleon is just half an inch long. However, female Brookesia nana’s are larger than Jaragua lizards, at 0.75 of an inch long.

Many other features differ within lizards, and their abilities and remarkable features are endless.

For more information, facts and fun, contact ntsnews@substack.com and expect a speedy response!

WHY LIZARDS? August 14th is actually National Lizards Day - to celebrate these amazing reptiles, we decided to write a juicy article bursting with facts and fun about lizards! It doesn’t stop there - keep checking our website to read more about the phenomenal force of nature!

Research Sources: LiveScience, A-Z Animals, Reptile Gardens. No plagiarism used - just a general idea.

Image Sources: National Geographic, LiveScience.