lizard

Introduction
General features
Natural history
- Life cycle
  - Embryonic development and sex determination
  - Parthenogenesis
  - Parental care
  - Maturation
- Ecology
  - Thermoregulation
  - Water loss and other variables
  - Niche partitioning
- Behaviour
  - Feeding habits
  - Defensive strategies
  - Courtship and territoriality
Form and function
- Skull and jaws
- Dentition
- Locomotion and limb adaptations
- Scales and colour change
Evolution and classification
- Annotated classification
- Critical appraisal

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Illustration showing ten types of lizards and related reptiles, each labeled with their common and scientific names, including Jackson's chameleon, plumed basilisk, flying lizard, red worm lizard, common wall lizard, eastern glass lizard, Texas horned lizard, tokay gecko, gila monster, and Algerian cylindrical skink.

Illustration showing specialized structures in lizards: the frilled lizard with its large neck frill extended, an anole displaying its red throat dewlap, a water lizard's dorsal sail, the fan-shaped toes of a fan-footed gecko, and the fringed toes of a fringe-toed lizard.

Unique traits of the Galapagos marine iguana

A Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) with a patterned black and pink body rests on sandy ground among prickly pear cactus pads.

A bright green day gecko with red spots on its back rests on a branch, surrounded by dry leaves in Madagascar.

Emoia caeruleocauda, the Pacific bluetail skink, with a bright blue tail and striped body, stands on a piece of dark wood with blurred mushrooms in the background.

A diagram shows a terrestrial reptile on rocks, illustrating energy exchanges with the environment through arrows labeled for reflected radiation, evaporation, direct solar radiation, thermal reradiation, convection, and conduction of heat between the lizard and the rock. Environmental and body temperatures are also noted.

Red-barred dragon lizard, Ctenophorus vadnappa, rests on a rock with its tail curled, showing textured brown skin and orange markings, in the Flinders Ranges, Australia.

At a Glance

lizard summary

Quizzes

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Deadliest Animals Quiz

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Related Questions

Can lizards regrow lost tails?
How are lizards different from snakes?
How can basilisk lizards run across water?
How can lizards spread to islands by floating on vegetation or traveling with people?
How can many anole species live on the same Caribbean island?
How can nest temperature determine the sex of some lizard hatchlings?
How do chameleons catch insects with their tongues?
How do chameleons use their feet to grip branches?
How do chuckwallas protect themselves inside rock crevices?
How do flying lizards glide through the air?
How do geckos communicate using sound?
How do green iguanas escape danger near water?
How do limbless lizards move through sand and soil?
How do lizards lay and protect their eggs?
How do lizards regulate their body temperature?
How do lizards smell with their tongues?
How do lizards survive with little water in deserts?
How do lizards use displays to defend territories?
How do skinks and whiptail lizards search for prey?
How does Jacobson’s organ help lizards find food?
How does a Gila monster deliver venom through its bite?
How does the African armadillo lizard defend itself?
How far can a chameleon extend its tongue?
How large can green iguanas become?
How many species of lizards are known?
What are gecko setae and how do they create adhesion?
Where do Komodo dragons live?
Where do lizards live around the world?
Which lizards can run on two legs?
Why are geckos often active at night?
Why do deserts in Australia support so many lizard species?
Why do monitor lizards have forked tongues?
Why do some desert lizards have fringes on their toes?
Why do some lizards drop their tails when attacked?
Why do some lizards have no legs?
Why do young Komodo dragons live in trees?
What do turtles eat?
How do turtle eggs hatch?
How fast do snakes grow?
What is molting in snakes?
How did most dinosaurs go extinct?
Did dinosaurs have feathers?
What is the size and weight of a Komodo dragon?
What do adult Komodo dragons eat?
How do Komodo dragons hunt their prey?
Is Mosasaurus bigger than a megalodon?

Science Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates Reptiles

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External Websites

The Royal Society Publishing - Biology Letters - Spatial learning and lateralization in lizards
Animal Corner - Lizards
Canadian Encyclopedia - Lizard Species in Canada
A-Z Animals - Lizard
San Diego Zoo Animals and Plants - Lizard
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Lizard Tail Regeneration As An Instructive Model of Enhanced Healing Capabilities In An Adult Amniote
University of California - Integrated Pest Management Program - Lizards
Missouri Department of Conservation - Lizard Facts
LiveScience - Facts About Lizards

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

lizard - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
lizard - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

lizard

reptile

Also known as: Sauria

Written by

George C. Gorman

Director, Tropical Programs, Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, California. Researcher on the evolution, behaviour, and systematics of lizards.

George C. GormanAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026 •History

lizard, (suborder Sauria), any of more than 5,500 species of reptiles belonging in the order Squamata (which also includes snakes, suborder Serpentes). Lizards are scaly-skinned reptiles that are usually distinguished from snakes by the possession of legs, movable eyelids, and external ear openings. However, some traditional (that is, non-snake) lizards lack one or more of these features. For example, limb degeneration and loss has occurred in glass lizards (Ophisaurus) and other lizard groups. Movable eyelids...

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