Fringed-Toed Lizard
Fringed-toed lizards inhabit the sand dunes in the deserts of North America. They are insectivores, or animals which eat only insects. Ants are the main source of their diet. When fringed-toed lizards are searching the ground for ants, they are also watching the area for predators. Fringed-toed lizards are preyed upon by snakes and birds of prey. When they are threatened by predators, fringed-toed lizards run quickly away and then dive into the loose, sandy ground to escape.
Fringed-toed lizards have leathery brown skin, which they slough, or shed, regularly throughout their lives. They are long, thin iguanas with long, straight tails and thick, fleshy tongues. They often stick their tongues out of their mouths to examine their surroundings. They pick up tiny chemical signals on their tongues which tell them what kinds of other animals are near. Their legs are thin, but muscular and hold the fronts of their bodies up off the ground. Their toes are long, thin, and splayed, or separated. They are called fringed-toed lizards because their toes are rough on the sides with fringed, or jagged edges. This construction helps them to run quickly across the desert sand. Fringed-toed lizards grow to be about eight inches (20 centimeters) long.
Like other members of the iguanidae family, each fringed-toed lizard has a "third eye" on the top of its head. This is not a real eye, but rather a sensory organ to detect the time of day and cycle of the year. These organs help fringed-toed lizards know when to mate and when to rest.
The mating season for fringed-toed lizards is not known. The females usually lay clutches, or batches, of between 1 and 45 eggs. After laying the eggs, the females have no further contact with their young. When the young lizards are ready to hatch, they break out of their egg shells and survive on their own. The time between the laying and the hatching of the eggs is known as the incubation period.
Fringed-toed lizards have a life span of between 5 and 10 years.
Source: Encyclopedia of Animals
Fringed-toed lizards have leathery brown skin, which they slough, or shed, regularly throughout their lives. They are long, thin iguanas with long, straight tails and thick, fleshy tongues. They often stick their tongues out of their mouths to examine their surroundings. They pick up tiny chemical signals on their tongues which tell them what kinds of other animals are near. Their legs are thin, but muscular and hold the fronts of their bodies up off the ground. Their toes are long, thin, and splayed, or separated. They are called fringed-toed lizards because their toes are rough on the sides with fringed, or jagged edges. This construction helps them to run quickly across the desert sand. Fringed-toed lizards grow to be about eight inches (20 centimeters) long.
Like other members of the iguanidae family, each fringed-toed lizard has a "third eye" on the top of its head. This is not a real eye, but rather a sensory organ to detect the time of day and cycle of the year. These organs help fringed-toed lizards know when to mate and when to rest.
The mating season for fringed-toed lizards is not known. The females usually lay clutches, or batches, of between 1 and 45 eggs. After laying the eggs, the females have no further contact with their young. When the young lizards are ready to hatch, they break out of their egg shells and survive on their own. The time between the laying and the hatching of the eggs is known as the incubation period.
Fringed-toed lizards have a life span of between 5 and 10 years.
Source: Encyclopedia of Animals
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