Artigenda
World Lizard Day
When: Annually, August 14.
World Lizard Day is an annual day drawing attention to lizards and their habitats worldwide. The day takes place on August 14 every year.
Unknown origin
It is not clear when the day first featured lizards. Most likely, this was a day that originated in lizard shelters. To draw attention to the vulnerable position of lizards.
Lizard habitat is not guaranteed everywhere. Consider, for example, habitat limitation, due to construction projects or environmental pollution. That is why a day like World Lizard Day is a necessity. So that attention is drawn to this special and sometimes vulnerable species.
About the lizard
Lizards belong to the suborder of Lacertilia, a subreptile group within the order of Squamata. More than 7,100 species of lizards can be found worldwide. This makes them the largest group of reptiles, which originated in the Triassic Period (251.9 – 201.3 million years ago). Yet the best-preserved fossils are those found from the Jurassic (201.3 – 145.0 million years ago).
Source: Unsplash.
Appearance
Lizards vary greatly in size and appearance. Most species remain small, with a body length including a tail of less than fifty centimetres. Only a few species reach a length of more than one metre. Their colours range from green to brown, and they often have a flattened body with a distinguishable head and tail and four well-developed legs1. However, some species have a cylindrical body and degenerate legs, and a few are even completely legless, making them easily mistaken for snakes.
One of the most striking features of lizards is their ability to shed their tails when attacked by a predator. This trait, known as autotomy, allows them to escape while the shed tail continues to wriggle and divert the predator’s attention1. The tail later grows back, although it is often shorter and different in structure from the original tail.
Cold-blooded
Lizards are cold-blooded and like to take a sunbath to warm up. This helps them move faster and hunt and flee more efficiently. Their diet consists mainly of insects and other arthropods, although larger species sometimes eat vertebrates or switch to plants. They play an important role in the ecosystem by controlling populations of pests such as house crickets, grasshoppers and cockroaches.
The lifestyle of lizards is highly variable and is often related to the family to which a species belongs. Geckos, for example, are usually active at night and live in trees, while true lizards are active during the day and live on the ground. However, both groups have exceptions, such as day-active geckos and climbing true lizards.
Source: Pixabay.
Habitat
Lizards are found almost worldwide, except northern North America and far northern Asia. Their adaptability to different climates and habitats is impressive. They can be found in rainforests, deserts, grasslands and even urban areas.
Source: Unsplash.
Some well-known families of lizards are the iguanas, monitor lizards, anoles, hazelworms and skinks. However, many families are relatively unknown and do not yet have a Dutch-language name. The chameleons, with their strongly laterally flattened bodies and distinctive adaptations such as their prehensile tongues and changing colours, form a special group within the lizards2.
In short, lizards are a diverse and fascinating group of reptiles with a wide range of adaptations and behaviours that enable them to survive in different environments around the world.
