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Basilisk Lizards Research Paper

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Introduction Lizards. What comes to mind? Typically they live on land, in the desert scurrying across the sand. Lots of lizards are fast on land, but this one is fast on water. Not just being able to swim underwater, but being able to sprint directly on the water’s surface. What does this lizard eat that fuels its fast dash across the water? What features has the basilisk have that allow them to not sink into the water? How does the basilisk defeat gravity? Would it be possible for humans to walk on water? With the combination of specialized features and blazing speed with the right environment, the basilisk earns the nickname of the Jesus Christ lizard. What do Basilisks Eat? Although basilisk lizards was considered to be omnivores, a …show more content…

Well, most of this secret lays in their feet. They have long toes with fringes of skin in between them that unfurl in water, this creates a air bubble that prevents them from sinking. However, they have to pull their feet up before the air bubble sinks and gravity pulls them down. Strong bones was usually a good thing, but these lizards have evolved hollow bones that prevent them from sinking. Some of the secret also lies within their tail, while running they hold their tail in the air to counterbalance their upright posture and to reduce drag. Part of the secret you can’t even see, these lizards have hip joints that rotate 360 degrees, meaning that they can turn their entire torso around. All of these specialized feature allows the basilisks is run 5 feet per second! That’s an average of running 5 more than 5 miles an hour! This feat is rather amazing but the basilisk can only run for for about 10 to 20 meters before they slow down enough to sink (“Do the Lizard Walk”). So don’t think that these lizards are living on the surface of the water, they usually only run to escape from predators or to chase prey and they otherwise spend the majority of their time in the trees and rocks close to the water so that they can sprint away at a moment’s notice. However, if they’re escaping from a predator, after running they can swim half a hour underwater without coming up for air (“Do the Lizard

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