Meet the infernal Gerry... also known as the Texas Alligator Lizard. My friend Eric has been researching these guys and has kept a few. This is yet another northeastern Mexico species with their range jutting into Texas.
One characteristic of alligator lizards in general is a fold along the side where the smooth platelike scales are replaced with granular scales. I don't know what its function is overall but it might allow these narrow lizards to puff up more (and also stretch to inhale more crickets). Here you can see the fold stretched out:
This shows how long their tail is:
They use their tail to grasp branches (or fingers), because they have arboreal tendencies:
Take a look at these serious climbing acrobatics. In the first he is basically pivoting off his belly. In the second he's hanging by a toe.
Shedding
nice photos of an interesting lizard
ReplyDeleteThanks! They really are great, I can't wait to see one in the wild someday...
ReplyDeleteSweet Pics. I have that same type of lizard. I found it hiking in Austin, Texas on vacation. We named him Austin since we found him in Austin. He's the best lizard ever! We've had him for about two and a half years and he's about 16 inches long.
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