Below are selected pictures of lizards. More photographs of lizards are available in the country sections found on the left.
Except where noted, all images are the property of Rhett A. Butler, copyright 1994-2004. Contact me with questions regarding use, reproduction, or purchase of any of the pictures.
Bright green lizard (Bronchocela cristatella?) in Java, Indonesia |
Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) |
Gecko lizard species with black markings |
Monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) emerging from a tree hollow |
Green-eyed gecko (Gecko stentor) |
Blue-eyed lizard in Malaysian rainforest |
Close up on the lizard with blue eyes found in the Malaysian rainforest |
Lizard, Costa Rica |
Male Iguana, Costa Rica |
Basilisk, Honduras |
Cnemidophorus deppei, Honduras |
Uroplatus Gecko, Madagascar |
Uroplatus Gecko, Madagascar |
Anole lizard showing its bright orange dewlap in a territorial display |
Unknown bright green lizard in the Peruvian Amazon |
Unknown bright green lizard in the Peruvian Amazon |
Flying Dragon, Thailand |
Agama Lizard, Thailand |
Blue-headed tree agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) |
Headshot of the colorful blue-headed tree agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) |
Juvenile Elliott's Chameleon |
Female Blue-headed Tree Agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) |
Black Tree Monitor (Varanus beccarii) |
Green Tree Monitor (Varanus prasinus) |
Iguana |
Furcifer pardalis chameleon in Maroantsetra (head shot)
| Brookesia minima chameleon size comparison
| Brookesia minima on pack of gum |
Brookesia peyrierasi chameleon on leaf |
Brookesia peyrierasi in palm of hand
Calumma parsonii chameleon near Perinet |
Furcifer lateralis (juvenile) |
Oplurus cuvieri at Kirindy |
Phelsuma madagascariensis kochi day gecko |
Paroedura bastardi gecko |
Phelsuma gecko in Ft. Dauphin |
Phelsuma gecko in Taolagnaro |
Phelsuma gecko |
Phelsuma guttata Day Gecko in leaf |
Phelsuma quadriocellata gecko |
Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe |
Uroplatus fimbriatus on trunk |
Zonosaurus ornatus lizard |
Skink |
Sailfin lizard |
Common green iguana (Iguana iguana) |
Water dragon (Physignatus lesurii) |
Australian water dragon (Physignatus lesurii) |
Crowned adamid (Hypsilurus dilophus) |
Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) |
Varanus komodoensis |
House gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) |
Bright green lizard (Bronchocela cristatella?) on tree trunk in Java, Indonesia |
Sphenomorphus skink species on Java |
House gecko |
House gecko on yellow-orange background |
Close up of Mountain Horned Dragon lizard (Acanthosaurus armata) found in the wild |
Varanus salvator monitor lizard |
Close up headshot of the blue-eyed forest dragon of the Malaysian jungle |
Male Anole, Costa Rica
lizard close, Grand Canyon |
whiptail closeup, Grand Canyon |
spiney lizard rock, Grand Canyon |
Male Basilisk, Honduras |
Gecko, Madagascar |
Turniptail Gecko or Turnip-tailed Gecko (Thecadactylus rapicauda) on tree trunk in Peru |
Male anole lizard displaying its bright orange dewlap |
Amazon race runner (Ameiva ameiva) in Peru |
Water Monitor, Thailand |
Blue-headed Tree Agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) on a tree trunk |
Blue-headed tree agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) |
Blue-headed tree agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) |
Elliot's Chameleon (Chamaeleo ellioti), close headshot |
Brown skink with white spots |
Chinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) |
Iguana |
Iguana |
Basilisk |
Panther chameleon's prehensile tail |
Furcifer pardalis (panther chameleon) outside Maroantsetra |
Pardalis chameleon near Maroantsetra
| Brookesia chameleon in soil
| Fucifer chameleon on arm
| Panther Chameleon catching insect with tongue |
Calumma nasuta |
young female Calmma brevicornis |
Baby oustaleti chameleon on hand |
Brookesia superciliaris |
Peyrieras' Pygmy Chameleon (Brookesia peyrierasi) |
Brookesia peyrierasi chameleon in palm
Phelsuma Day Gecko, Nosy Mangabe |
Phelsuma Gecko, Nosy Mangabe |
Skink in moss |
Uroplatus fimbriatus - head shot from side |
Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe |
Leaf-tailed gecko on Nosy Mangabe |
Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe |
Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe |
Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe |
Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe |
Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe |
Uroplatus fimbriatus - full body |
Uroplatus phantasticus gecko |
Mangrove monitor (Varanus indicus) |
Green agama dragon lizard on tree trunk |
Green lizard (Bronchocela cristatella?) in a tree in Java |
Skink on tree trunk in Java |
Water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) on a branch above the Seikonyer River |
Green Bronchocela cristatella lizard |
Water monitor (Varanus salvator) making its way through the Borneo swamp forest |
Tropidophorus micropus skink |
Hemidactylus gecko species with black markings |
House gecko in Sulawesi |
Sphenomorphus skink species in Sulawesi |
Wild Mountain Horned Dragon (Acanthosaurus armata) on tree trunk |
Mountain Horned Dragon lizard (Acanthosaurus armata) |
Giant forest gecko (Gecko stentor) with turquoise eyes |
Green-eyed gecko (Gecko stentor) |
Green-eyed gecko (Gecko stentor) |
Small water monitor lizard sunning itself
Small water monitor lizard taking in the sun on the grass |
Varanus salvator monitor lizard on the move |
Blue-eyed forest lizard in the Malaysian jungle; greenish-brown body |
Blue-eyed forest dragon of the Malaysian jungle |
Monitor Lizard, Australia |
Monitor Lizard, Australia |
Nile Monitor, Botswana |
Ctenosaura similis, Costa Rica |
Anole, Costa Rica |
Iguana Negra, Costa Rica |
spiney lizard, Grand Canyon |
Anole, Honduras |
Anole, Honduras |
Rainbow Ameivas, Honduras |
Day Gecko, Madagascar |
Uroplatus Gecko, Madagascar |
Brown anole lizard |
Anole lizard |
Bright green male anole lizard on canopy tower |
Male anole lizard on trunk of Kapok tree |
Male Green Anolis lizard in canopy |
Anole lizard on vine |
Amazon race runner (Ameiva ameiva) in Peru |
Amazon race runner (Ameiva ameiva) in Peru |
Anole lizard (Anolis sp.) in Peru |
Anole lizard (Anolis fuscoauratus) in Peru |
Cicada and anole lizard sharing a tree trunk |
Mabuya bistriata skink
Agama, Cambodia |
Agama Lizard, Cambodia |
Water Monitor, Thailand |
Water Monitor, Thailand |
Lizard, Venezuela |
Agamid lizard |
Blue-headed Tree Agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) on a tree trunk |
Female blue-headed tree agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) |
Blue-headed tree agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) |
Blue-headed tree agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) [mature adult male] |
Male blue-headed agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) on a tree |
Green tree Agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) on a tree trunk |
Female tree Agama (Acanthocerus atricollis) on a tree trunk |
Elliot's Chameleon (Chamaeleo ellioti) on a plant leaf |
Montane Side-striped Chameleon (Chamaeleo ellioti) resting on a leaf |
Blue-headed agamid |
Blue-headed tree agamid |
Green Tree Agama (Acanthocerus atricollis)
Lizards are reptiles of the order Squamata, which they share with the snakes (Ophidians). They are usually four-legged, with external ear openings and movable eyelids. Species range in adult length from a few centimeters (some Caribbean geckos) to nearly three meters (Komodo dragons).
Some lizard species called "glass snakes" or "glass lizards" have no functional legs, though there are some vestigial skeletal leg structures. They are distinguished from true snakes by the presence of eyelids and ears.
Many lizards can change color in response to their environments or in times of stress. The most familiar example is the chameleon, but more subtle color changes occur in other lizard species as well (most notably the anole, also known as the "house chameleon" or "chamele").
Lizards typically feed on insects or rodents. A few species are omnivorous or herbivorous; a familiar example of the latter is the iguana, which is unable to properly digest animal protein. Only two lizard species are venomous: the Mexican beaded lizard and the closely-related Gila monster, both of which live in northern Mexico and the southwest United States. Neither of these poses much danger to humans, as their poison is introduced slowly by chewing, rather than injected as with poisonous snakes.
Most other lizard species are utterly harmless to humans (most species native to North America, for example, are incapable even of drawing blood with their bites). Only the very largest lizard species pose any threat at all; the Komodo dragon, for example, has been known to attack and kill humans and their livestock. The chief impact of lizards on humans is positive; they are significant predators of pest species; numerous species are prominent in the pet trade; some are eaten as food (for example, iguanas in Central America); and lizard symbology plays important, though rarely predominant roles in some cultures (e.g. Tarrotarro in Australian mythology).
Most lizards lay eggs, though a few species are capable of live birth. Many are also capable of regeneration of lost limbs, such as tails. A brief courtship and mating season occurs between mid-May and early-June. Twenty days after breeding, the female will lay from 2-21 creamy-white leathery eggs in a burrow beneath a large rock. The young hatch 2-3 months later, averaging 3-4 inches in length.
Lizards in the Scincomorpha family, which include skinks (such as the blue-tailed skink), often have shiny, iridescent scales that appear moist. However, like all other lizards, they are dry-skinned and generally prefer to avoid water (though all lizards are able to swim if needed).
Pictures were taken by Rhett A. Butler, copyright 2007. While these photos are the property of mongabay.com, it may be permissable to use them for non-commercial purposes (like powerpoint presentations and school projects), provided that the images are not altered in any form. Please read this for more details. If you are interested in using an image in a publication please contact me.
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