Helmet basilisk
| Helmet basilisk | ||||||||||||
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Helmbasilisk ( Basiliscus basiliscus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Basiliscus basiliscus | ||||||||||||
| ( Carl von Linné , 1758) |
The Helmbasilisk ( Basiliscus basiliscus ) is a lizard from the suborder of the iguanas that is common between Costa Rica and northwestern Colombia.
description
The helmet basilisk reaches a length of around 80 cm with a weight of 200–500 g, of which the tail takes up 50 cm. The top is olive green to brown and patterned with dark horizontal stripes, the belly is yellowish in color.
It is named after a cartilaginous comb supported by a bone ridge on the back of the male's head. The back and tail are characterized by sail-like crests. The long toes end in sharp claws. At the edges of the toes there are scale seams in which air pockets are created, which enable the animal to cover short distances on the surface of water at high walking speed.
Way of life
Helmet basilisks live on trees by jungle lakes, rivers and streams. Their territories have a size of 500 to 1000 m². They swim and dive well and, walking on their hind legs, can cross standing, calm waters. They reach a speed of 12 km / h. The food spectrum includes insects, snails, smaller lizards, frogs and fish. In addition, flowers and fruits are also consumed. They reproduce all year round. The females lay up to 20 eggs in the substrate five to eight times a year. The eggs are about 2.1 to 2.4 cm long and 1.2 to 1.5 cm wide. By the time the young hatch, after 70 to 150 days depending on the temperature, they gain in size and weight. The young are about 11 cm long when they hatch.
literature
- Manfred Rogner : Lizards. Volume 1: geckos, pinnipeds, agamas, chameleons and iguanas. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8001-7248-8 .
Individual evidence
- ^ S. Tonia Hsieh, George V. Lauder: Running on water: Three-dimensional force generation by basilisk lizards . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . tape 101 , no. 48 , 2004, pp. 16784-16788 , doi : 10.1073 / pnas.0405736101 .
- ↑ JW Glasheen, TA McMahon: A hydrodynamic model of locomotion in the Basilisk Lizard . In: Nature . tape 380 , no. 6572 , 1996, pp. 340-342 , doi : 10.1038 / 380340a0 .
