6022-Frilled Neck Lizard 40cm.L

Frill-necked Lizard

Description The Frill-necked lizard, which is a member of the dragon family that inhabits the tropical forests and woodlands of Australia and Papua New Guinea, is distinct for its huge extendible frill that gathers under its throat and around its neck. When this animal feels threatened, it intimidates the predator by rising up on its hind legs, opening its mouth wide, extending the wide skin flap surrounding its head, and making a hissing sound. If this strategy fails to intimidate the attacker, it will run fast to safety. Most of the time, it climbs to the nearest tree to escape from the predator. The color of the lizard’s body is grey or brown; its mouth is yellow, while the frill around its neck is lighter with a reddish brown or orange tint. Moreover, this creature can give a painful bite with the sharp teeth in its lower jaw. They spend most of their time in trees, and are classified as carnivores. Their diet normally consists of ants, termites, small lizards, cicadas, spiders, invertebrates, as well as small mammals. Female frill-necked lizards lay between 8- 23 eggs, which they place in their nest located underground. At birth, they can already hunt and use the frill that surrounds their head. Hence, newborns are already fully independent.

Status According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Frill-necked lizard is categorized as Least Concern. Though they are not at risk for extinction, some of the threats that they face include habitat reduction, illegal pet trade, and predation by cats.