How do chuckwallas protect themselves inside rock crevices?

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black girdle-tailed lizard — lizard Black girdle-tailed lizard (*Cordylus nigra*).

When threatened by predators, chuckwallas utilize a highly effective defensive strategy by retreating into small rock crevices. Once inside, they inflate their bodies with air, which causes them to wedge firmly against the rock walls. This expansion, combined with the presence of small, spiny scales on their dorsal surface, makes it extremely difficult for a predator to pull them out of their hiding spot.12