Frilled Lizard Facts
|Size||23.6 - 39.3 inch (60 cm - 1 m)|
|Speed||Up to 29.8 mph (48 km/h)|
|Weight||1.1 - 2.2 lb (0.5 - 1 kg)|
|Lifespan||1 - 20 years|
|Food||Insects, spiders, cicadas, ants|
|Predators||Snakes, owls, dingoes|
|Habitat||Australia, New Guinea|
|Scientific name||Chlamydosaurus Kingii|
|Characteristics||Long tail, can spread out its frill|
Have you watched the movie Jurassic Park? Then you surely will have noticed the pre-historic lizards, which suddenly spewed out poison and spread out their huge frills just like an umbrella – quite similar to the frilled lizard!
The pre-historic lizard from Jurassic Park is based on the dinosaur Dilophosaurus. Yet, there is no scientific proof that Dilophosaurus spat poison or had a frill.
While the frilled lizard’s body usually is unobtrusively colored, the frill often is bright red or orange. In order to spread it out, the frilled lizard opens its mouth, because the muscles around the jaw and tongue are also attached to a cartilage at the frill. This helps to spread the frill almost automatically. The frill has a diameter of 7.8 - 11.8 inch (20 - 30 cm).
What’s on the Menu
Frilled lizards feed on spiders, harvest flies, bugs, and other insects that live in trees. They also hunt for their prey on the ground, e.g. ants and other small lizards.
In order to focus on their prey, frilled lizards use their excellent eyesight. They are also extremely fast: When they detect some delicious bite on the ground, they let themselves fall down from the tree, grab the prey and climb back up within seconds.
Frilled lizards are passionate climbers and spend more than 90 % of their lives in trees.
Defense – Plan A: I Am Not There
Frilled lizards prefer to avoid any kind of fight. Thanks to their camouflage they nearly seem to blend with the ground or the branches. They keep their frills folded against their bodies and remain motionless in one spot.
Defense – Plan B: I Am Dangerous
If frilled lizards have been detected, they do their best to appear as mean as possible – as terribly dangerous lizards in their specific case.
They open their mouths and display their sharp teeth, spread out their bright frill, stand on their hind legs and beat the ground with their tails (the tail makes up two-thirds of their total body length).
This makes the frilled lizard appear almost twice as big, and in many cases this works out and frightens the hell out of the opponent and makes him run away – even though frilled lizards are completely harmless.
Defense – Plan C: I Am Gone
If plan B does not work out because the opponent cannot be impressed by all the action, the frilled lizard turns around on its heel and starts to run.
It is almost impossible NOT to laugh at this sight, as it is terribly funny to watch the lizard escape on its hind legs, leaving a little could of dust behind. The lizard runs straight to the next tree to hide in.
The frilled lizard “Lizzie“ was the official mascot of the Paralympics (Olympic Games for disabled athletes) in Sydney in the year 2000.
Frilled Lizards Love Money
Or is it the Australians who love the frilled lizards? The animal adorned a 2-cent coin, which has been no longer in use since 1992.
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