Dinosaurs in miniature, little dragons, whatever they call them. And these are all the lizards scurrying around us, a suborder of reptiles from the order Scaly. These include all scaly animals, except snakes and two-year-olds. Let's look at this beauty of the animal world of the planet and read the facts about them.
Today there are almost 6,000 species of tailed reptiles in the world.
Representatives of various families differ in size, color, habits, habitat; some exotic species are listed in the Red Book. In nature, the most common reptile can be considered a true lizard, the average body length of which is 10-40 cm.
Unlike snakes, lizards have movable, separated eyelids, as well as an elastic, elongated body with a long tail, covered with keratinized scales, which change several times per season. The paws are clawed.
A lizard's tongue may have different shapes, color and size, it is usually movable and easily pulled out of the mouth. It is with their tongue that many lizards catch prey.
Most lizards are capable, in case of danger, of throwing away their tail (autotomy). By contracting the cartilaginous muscles at the base of the tail, the lizard discards the tail and grows it again, albeit in a slightly shortened form.
Sometimes a lizard grows back not one, but two or three tails:
The longest living is the brittle lizard. A male brittle lizard (Anguis fragilis) lived at the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, for over 54 years, from 1892 to 1946.
While most animals perceive the world in black and white, lizards see their surroundings in orange.
There are 2 ways of lizard reproduction: laying eggs and viviparity.
Females of small species of lizards lay no more than 4 eggs, while large ones lay up to 18 eggs. The weight of an egg can vary from 4 to 200 grams. The egg size of the world's smallest lizard, the round-toed gecko, does not exceed 6 mm in diameter. The egg size of the world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, reaches a length of 10 cm.
Gila Monster Lizard (HELODERMA SUSPECTUM)
Their bite is poisonous. When bitten, grooves in the tiny, sharp teeth release a painful neurotoxin into the victim's body.
Roundhead (PHRYNOCEPHALUS)
It is called the toad-headed agama - it is small, lives in empty spaces and is distinguished by one feature - communication in round-headed agama occurs with the help of a tail, which they curl, and also interesting body vibrations, with which they quickly bury themselves in the sand. Fancy mouth folds scare off enemies.
The infraorder iguana (lat. Iguania) includes 14 families, the most prominent representative of which is the chameleon, inhabiting Africa, Madagascar, the Middle East, Hawaii and some American states
Common iguanas (green)
The iguana is the fastest lizard - the speed of movement on land is 34.9 km/h - recorded in the black iguana (Ctenosaura), living in Costa Rica.
Marine iguanas
Marine iguanas of the Galapagos Islands, which Darwin nicknamed "demons of darkness," spend their time diving underwater and scraping off the rocks overgrown plants on which the iguanas feed.
Chameleon
The chameleon is a highly unique reptile. Its toes are webbed, it has an extremely prehensile tail, and it shows its attitude by changing color, binocular-like eyeballs moving independently of each other, while a very long and sticky tongue shoots out and catches its prey.
Unusual even among chameleons is Brookesia minima or the dwarf leaf chameleon. It is without a doubt one of the smallest reptiles known to man.
The largest lizard was the monitor lizard, exhibited in 1937 at the St. Louis Zoo, Missouri, USA. Its length was 3.10 m and its weight was 166 kg.
The longest lizard is the thin-bodied Salvador monitor lizard, or musk deer (Varanus salvadorii), from Papua New Guinea. He, according to data precise measurements, reaches a length of 4.75 m, but approximately 70% of its total length is in the tail.
Geckos
Geckos are a large family of small to medium-sized, highly distinctive lizards, characterized in most cases by biconcave (amphicoelous) vertebrae and the loss of the temporal arches.
Many species of geckos have amazing camouflage abilities—their skin darkens or lightens depending on the light in the environment. During experiments with wall geckos, their eyes were closed, but they continued to change color according to the usual algorithm.
Gecko lizards do not have eyelids, so they are forced to periodically wet a special transparent membrane over their eyes with their tongue.
Flying dragon and gecko's foot
Flying dragons are a genus of the subfamily of Afro-Arabian dragons of the family Agamidae; unites about thirty Asian species of arboreal insectivorous lizards. Other Russian names of this genus are also found in the literature - dragons, flying dragons
The frilled lizard is a lizard from the agamidae family. In the genus Chlamydosaurus is the only species.
There are also species of lizards in which males are completely absent. Lizards Cnemidophorus neomexicanus reproduce without laying eggs using parthenogenesis (a type of reproduction in which the participation of a male individual is not necessary).
The lesser belt-tailed lizard (Cordylus cataphractus) is a species of lizard from the family of belt-tailed lizards.
Commodian monitor
The Komodo dragon is the largest carnivorous lizard in existence, reaching almost three meters in length. The main food of the monitor lizard is rotting meat, and it rots precisely thanks to the monitor lizard, or rather its bite. The monitor lizard pursues the victim, tracks it down, attacks and makes one bite, and the infected saliva, entering the victim’s blood, leads to its infection. Recent studies have also shown that the monitor lizard is capable of producing poison. It can also open its mouth very wide and secrete a special red mucus in order to swallow a victim's corpse of a suitable size whole.
Basilisk lizard
Basilisk lizards can walk on water; this effect is achieved by quickly and very often moving their hind limbs. At the same time, the running speed of lizards reaches 12 km/h, and they can run up to 400 meters.
Hi all! After I wrote about the flying dragon, I started looking for dragons... and found! As many as 4 such animals.
Bearded dragon.
Their gaping mouths, spiky skin and terrifying appearance make them feel like real dragons, there is only one drawback that ruins everything - their size. They grow up to 60 cm and look like they just stepped out of a low-budget monster movie 50s of the last century. Bearded dragons are very popular as pets, although they are prohibited from being exported outside of Australia, where they live. There are seven various types these animals, some of which have a kind of hood, which, when blossoming, gives them an even greater resemblance to a dragon. 
Sea Dragon.
Sea dragons- This tropical fish, which come in two types - leafy and grassy and are related to what for some reason is commonly called a seahorse. Leafy ones can reach a length of 24 cm, while grassy ones grow up to 45 cm. Both sea dragons and seahorses are similar to each other with a horse-like head shape, but dragons have achieved greater success in camouflage. They have acquired numerous spines and ribs, which enhances their resemblance to their mythical ancestor, but does not make them any more frightening. Sea dragons are as safe as their relatives - Sea Horses.
Chinese water dragon.
Signs Chinese zodiac are divided into five different elements, which alternate every 12 years, so in 2012 the Chinese water dragon receives additional status. These representatives of the animal kingdom can grow up to 90 cm in length, two-thirds of which is the tail. The Chinese water dragon is an elegant green lizard with jagged spines on its back. She prefers to live in tropical forests, in close proximity to ponds and rivers. In case of danger, they simply jump into the water and hide in it. As the Chinese dragon ages, rainbow spots appear on its neck, usually red, orange or Pink colour. Their beauty and relative docile nature make them good pets, if you are a reptile lover of course. However, keep in mind that if you scare the Chinese dragon, it runs very fast on its short legs. 
Komodo dragons.
We would call these creatures “terrible lizards,” but this name is already taken by “dinosaurs” (which is translated from Latin in exactly the same way). If only there was something more appropriate name for these huge, predatory and poisonous reptiles... Komodo dragons grow up to 3 meters in length, zoologists call this island gigantism.
Although Komodo dragons are taxonomically classified as monitor lizards, I think they are the most similar to dragons of any living animal.
Really, do you know of anything outside of Anne McCaffrey's Riders of Pern that would be capable of chewing a buffalo whole? Komodo dragons are fairly well protected from poachers on their two island habitats. But lack of food increasingly forces them to attack people, which makes them quite dangerous animals. 
The dragon lizard, or as it is also called the flying lizard, is considered one of the most prominent representatives subfamilies of Afro-Arabian agamas. These unique creatures are quite miniature in size and are able to fly thanks to their unique wings.
The flying lizard is a fairly inconspicuous animal, which, due to its small size and color, is able to blend into a tree. The length of this lizard does not exceed forty centimeters, most of which is the tail, which, among other things, also performs the function of turning during flight. The body of all these creatures is very narrow and is about five centimeters in thickness.
Distinctive features
A distinctive feature of a dragon in the form of a lizard is that it has corrugated folds on both sides of the body, which straighten during flight and form wings. The difference between males and females is that the former have a special fold on the throat, which serves as another wing, only to stabilize the body position during flight, as well as to attract females and scare away opponents.
flying Dragon
Another distinctive element is the brown-gray color of the individuals with a metallic sheen, which allows the lizards to be completely invisible on the tree. These creatures also have lateral membranes on both sides, which alternate one after another and are distinguished by a fairly bright color. The upper side of the dragon mainly shimmers in different color scheme, which includes red and yellow shades, which in turn are complemented by various splashes, stripes and spots. As for the lower side, there are mainly yellow and blue colors there. Among other things, the animal’s abdomen, tail and paws are also distinguished by bright shades.
Note! The dragon lizard is a fairly common reptile species. That is why the animal is not on the list of endangered species.
Habitats
Having first heard about such a unique creature as the flying dragon lizard, many wonder where this animal lives. Most often this animal can be found in the following places:
- in India;
- in Malaysia;
- on the islands of the Malay archipelago;
- on the island of Borneo;
- for the most part South-East Asia.
Lizards practically do not descend to the ground
In order to get food, the lizard sits on or near a tree and waits for insects to appear. As soon as the insect appears in close proximity to the reptile, it deftly eats it, without even displacing the animal’s body.
Surely in one of the articles on our website we have already surprised you with the fact that they exist. But this is far from the only species of reptile that is capable of traveling distances by air. So, we will tell you about the species of lizard Draco volans, which translated from Latin means “Flying Dragon”.
Flying dragons belong to the family Agamaidae, a subfamily of Afro-Arabian agamas. The habitats of these strange reptiles are located in remote corners of Southeast Asia. Flying dragons live in trees tropical forests the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, the Philippines, as well as in the southeastern part of India, Indonesia and Malaysia.
In nature, there are about 30 species capable of flight. But the Draco volans species is the most common, although not fully studied due to the hidden lifestyle of these reptiles.
Flying dragons are not at all the same size as their teeth - cartoon characters. The size of this one reaches 20-40 centimeters in length. Moreover, the color of flying dragons is not very noticeable - from solid green to gray-brown. This allows them to blend in environment a habitat. But here distinctive feature flying dragons - wide skin folds on the sides of a flattened body, which, when the “false ribs” between which they are stretched open, form bright “wings”, allow these lizards to soar in the air, freely moving up and down and changing the trajectory of movement at a distance of up to 60 meters.
The structure of the “wings” of flying dragons is very unique. The lateral ribs of this lizard are significantly increased in size compared to the rest of the skeleton structure and are able to straighten the skin folds stretched between them. The resulting “wings” have a bright and variegated color - they are green, yellow, purple, with a tint, transition, with spots, specks and stripes.
An interesting fact is that males have hallmark- skin fold bright orange. Moreover, for the male sex this distinctive feature is considered a virtue, which they willingly demonstrate by sticking it forward. From the point of view of biologists, this anatomical feature is a process of the hyoid bone of males, which helps them during migration, stabilizing the body.
In general, gliding in the air for flying dragons is in itself a very useful skill that nature has endowed them with. He helps them escape from predators.
The diet of these reptiles includes insects, mainly ants, as well as insect larvae. Flying dragons live and hunt strictly on certain territory, which usually consists of several neighboring trees. These descend from the trees only in case of an unsuccessful flight, or to lay eggs.
These flying dragons practically do not consume water; they get enough of it from the food they consume. It is also worth noting that flying dragons have a well-developed organ of hearing, which allows them to hear the approach of prey long before it appears near the reptile.
Unfortunately, the reproduction process and life expectancy of flying dragons have not yet been fully studied. The only thing that biologists managed to find out is that females lay eggs in crevices in the bark of trees. Small flying dragons appear within a few weeks and can fly from the moment they hatch.
The common flying dragon (lat. Draco volans) is a lizard of the Agamidae family (lat. Agamidae), living on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, as well as on the Malay Peninsula, in South Asia and in southern India. This reptile has perfectly mastered the technique of gliding flight. The flying dragon usually glides at a slight angle, flying about 20 m.
If necessary, it can make a non-landing flight of up to 100 m. In flight, the flying dragon relies on the air cushion formed under its “wings”. The “wings” are broad folds of skin on the sides of the body, called the flight membrane, supported by greatly elongated false ribs. The articulation of these ribs with the spine allows the reptile to quickly open and close the flight membrane.
Behavior
Flying dragons live in tropical rainforests, where all year round It is swelteringly hot with high humidity and minimal temperature fluctuations. To live, they choose the upper tiers of the jungle and lead an exclusively arboreal lifestyle, descending to the ground only in exceptional cases.
In search of food, the lizard flies from tree to tree, skillfully controlling the direction, speed and range of flight with the help of its tail and flight membrane. Before the start, the flying dragon jumps sharply up and straightens its flying membrane, and upon landing, neatly folds it.
The lizard's diet is based on wood ants and various insects, which it simply licks from the bark of a tree. Flying dragons communicate with each other using pretty complex language signs made by the throat sacs. Having met a relative, the reptile protrudes its brightly colored throat sac and begins to give them signs.
If a thought convincingly expressed in this way does not reach the mind of a stranger, then the flying dragon boldly rushes into battle and drives him away from its territory. Most often, such communication can take quite a long time, and, having talked enough, the reptiles fly off to their own affairs. Biologists have still not been able to decipher the code in which representatives of this species communicate with each other.
Reproduction
Flying dragons breed throughout the year and never hibernate. Having met a female, the male carefully shows her his charms and demonstrates his flying membrane. The demonstration is supported by “highly artistic speech” using the throat pouch. Only a good flyer and speaker receives the right to procreate.
After some pleasantries, the female leaves the male and descends to the ground to build a nest. The nest is a small hole dug in loose or sandy soil, where the female lays 2 to 5 eggs. She covers the masonry with a layer of earth and leaves it to its fate.
After 1-2 months, small dragons are born from the eggs, completely ready to independent life. Immediately after birth, they rush up to the treetops, where they can feel relatively safe. Flying dragons have plenty of enemies. Snakes and birds love to feast on them, so the ability to fly is not a luxury for them, but the only opportunity to survive in the wild jungle.
Description
The body length of adult individuals usually does not exceed 22 cm, and the tail length is 20 cm. The body is greenish-bronze with numerous dark specks. Elongated jointed ribs serve as a frame for the flight membrane. It is bright red with black spots and is very large in proportion to the lizard's body.
The body is thin, slender, covered with small scales. The voluminous throat pouch is used for communication. Large eyes allow you to judge distances very accurately.
On the sides of the head there are black and white wing-shaped protrusions that form an additional load-bearing surface. The long thin tail acts as a rudder in the air. The long fingers are armed with sharp claws, making it easier to climb trees.
The average lifespan of an ordinary flying dragon is about 5 years.