Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species,[1] ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains.
Lizards are a widespread grup of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species,[1] ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The grup is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia although some lizards are more closely terkait to these two excluded grups than they are to other lizards. Lizards kisaran in size from chameleons and geckos a few centimeters long to the 3-meter-long Komodo dragon.
Most lizards are quadrupedal, running with a strong side-to-side motion. Some lineages (known as "legless lizards "), have secondarily lost their legs, and have long snake-like bodies. Some lizards, such as the forest-dwelling Draco, are able to glide. They are often territorial, the malas fighting off other malas and signalling, often with bright colours, to attract mates and to intimidate pesaings. Lizards are mainly carnivorous, often being sit-and-wait predators; many smaller species eat insects, while the Komodo eats mammals as big as water buffalo.
Lizards make use of a variety of antipredator adaptations, including venom, camouflage, reflex bleeding, and the ability to sacrifice and regrow their tails.
Lizards typically have rounded torsos, elevated heads on short necks, four limbs and long tails, although some are legless.[4] Lizards and snakes sharing a movable quadrate bone, distinguishing them from the rhynchocephalians, which have more rigid diapsid skulls.[5] Some lizards such as chameleons have prehensile tails, assisting them in climbing among vegetation.[6]
As in other reptiles, the skin of lizards is covered in overlapping scales made of keratin. This provides protection from the environment and reduces water loss through evaporation.
This adaptation enables lizards to thrive in some of the driest deserts on earth. The skin is tough and leathery, and is shed (sloughed) as the animal grows. Unlike snakes which shed the skin in a singgel piece, lizards slough their skin in several pieces. The scales may be modified into spines for display or protection, and some species have bone osteoderms underneath the scales.[6][7]
