Lizard

A lizard is a type of reptile with scaly skin, four legs, and a long tail. Lizards live on every continent except Antarctica. There are more than 7,000 different kinds, which makes lizards the largest group of reptiles on Earth. They range in size from tiny geckos smaller than a dime to the Komodo dragon, which can grow over 10 feet long and weigh more than 150 pounds.

Lizards are cold-blooded. That means their bodies do not make their own heat. Instead, a lizard warms up by lying in the sun and cools down by hiding in the shade or a burrow. This is why you often see lizards on warm rocks in the morning. They are charging up like tiny solar panels.

Most lizards hatch from eggs, though a few kinds give birth to live young. A baby lizard looks like a tiny version of its parents and has to take care of itself right away. Many lizards eat insects. Larger ones eat birds, eggs, or small mammals. Iguanas mostly eat leaves and fruit.

Lizards have some of the strangest tricks in the animal world. A chameleon can change colors to match its mood or warn off rivals. Its tongue can shoot out longer than its own body to catch a bug. A gecko can walk straight up a wall or across a ceiling. Tiny hairs on its toes grip the surface through a force so small that scientists only figured out how it works in recent years. Horned lizards in the American Southwest can squirt blood from their eyes to scare off a coyote.

The most famous lizard trick is the dropping tail. When a predator grabs a lizard by the tail, the tail snaps off on purpose. It wiggles on the ground for a minute or two. The predator watches the tail while the lizard escapes. A new tail slowly grows back, though it is usually shorter and a different color.

Not all lizards are harmless. The Komodo dragon, which lives on a few islands in Indonesia, has a powerful bite and venom in its saliva. It can take down a water buffalo. The Gila monster, found in the deserts of the American Southwest, is the only venomous lizard in the United States.

People share a long history with lizards. Dragons in myths from China, Europe, and Central America were often shaped like giant lizards. Today, some lizards are kept as pets, including bearded dragons, leopard geckos, and green iguanas.