Striped basilisk

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Striped basilisk
Basiliscus vittatus lizard on a rock, Costa Rica (2009) .jpg

Striped Basilisk ( Basiliscus vittatus )

Systematics
Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank: Toxicofera
without rank: Iguanas (Iguania)
Family : Corytophanidae
Genre : Basilisk ( basiliscus )
Type : Striped basilisk
Scientific name
Basiliscus vittatus
Wiegmann , 1828

The Brown Basilisk ( Basiliscus vittatus ), also known as Striped basilisk called, is a kind of basilisk in the family of corytophanidae . The species is native to Mexico , Central America, and Colombia, and was introduced to the US state of Florida . With its large hind feet, the striped basilisk can walk short distances on the surface of water.

characteristics

The striped basilisk shows a pronounced sexual dimorphism . While males reach a total body length of about 60 centimeters, females are smaller. Adult males have a pronounced cartilage- supported crest at the head end and one from the shoulder to the hind legs on the back; the crests of the females are less pronounced. The male snout is also more elongated than that of the female.

The tail and legs, especially the hind legs, are long and slender. Young animals have scales on their toes that, like webbed feet, enlarge the surface of their feet; these are reduced in adult animals.

The back is colored dark brown and shows longitudinal yellow side lines. Lips and abdomen are lighter in color than the back. Young animals are particularly strongly patterned.

distribution and habitat

Striped basilisk on a branch

The striped basilisk is common in Central America and northern South America, from Colombia to Mexico. It was also introduced to Florida in 1976 when an animal importer deliberately released some individuals in Miami-Dade County . The striped basilisk has established itself as an invasive species and has spread to other counties .

The species lives in tropical and subtropical forests, both in subtropical dry forests and in subtropical rainforests . Here it can mainly be found living in trees on low branches or in bushes, but also partially on the ground. Above all, it lives in dense vegetation close to water. The species is rarely found in areas further away from water.

In the course of their development, the habitat used by the lizards changes. Young animals live closer to bodies of water than adults.

Way of life

behavior

The striped basilisk is diurnal. It moves in different ways. The lizard can climb, run and swim on four legs. If it has to flee from a predator, the basilisk increases its speed by walking quickly on its hind legs, so it can reach higher speeds than when moving on four legs.

Reproduction

Young animal eats insect

A female striped basilisk can lay eggs two to four times a year in an egg pit dug in the ground. Two to six eggs, occasionally even more, are laid per clutch and then buried. The eggs are between 18 and 21 millimeters in length. The sex of the young is presumably determined genetically and not, as is the case with many other reptiles, by the temperature at which the eggs develop. The young hatch after two to three months. At the age of six months and a body length of 9 to 10 centimeters, striped basilisks reach sexual maturity.

nutrition

Striped basilisks mainly feed on insects, but partly also on fruits and small vertebrates, such as small individuals of the lizard genus Anolis .

Walking on water

In 1912 it was described that in flight, striped basilisks can run over short distances of 10 to 15 meters over water of great depth, moving quickly on their hind legs. It later turned out that the striped basilisk is less dependent on a habitat on the water compared to other basilisk species that can walk over water. In adult animals, the scales around the edges of the toes are reduced, so that the surface area is less than in other related species and so walking on water is not possible. Such seams exist in young animals, so that their toes have a surface similar to that of other basilisk species. The habitat of young striped basilisks is also more adapted to the water than that of adult animals. The young striped basilisks use their locomotion on the water to flee from predators such as snakes.

Because of their ability to walk on water, basilisks have also been given the popular name Jesus Christ lizards .

Danger

Population estimates are not available and the population trend is unknown but appears to be stable. Due to the stable population and the wide distribution, the Red List of Endangered Species of the IUCN classifies the striped basilisk as harmless ( least concern ). It can also adapt to changing environmental conditions. In its distribution areas it is one of the most common reptile species .

etymology

Woodcut from the Serpentum et draconum historiae by Ulisse Aldrovandi (Bologna 1640)

The generic name Basiliscus refers to the basilisk , a creature from Greek mythology that has the upper body of a rooster with a crown on its head and the abdomen of a snake. The species of the genus basilisk are similar to the mythical animal by the crest on the head. The ancient Greek word βασιλίσκος basilískos originally means "little king", but also denotes a type of lizard or snake .

The type epitheton vittatus comes from Latin and means "adorned with a ribbon". The name is a reference to the shape of the crest on the head of the males.

Web links

Commons : Stripe Basilisk ( Basiliscus vittatus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfred Edmund Brehm, Wilhelm Haacke, Ernst Krause, Ernst Ludwig Taschenberg & Oskar Schmidt: Brehms animal life: The creeping animals and amphibians . Eduard: Eduard Pechuel-Loesche (=  Brehms Tierleben . Volume 7 ). Bibliographical Institute, 1892, p. 78 .
  2. ^ Gunther Koehler : Reptiles of Central America, 2nd Edition . tape 2 . Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach 2008, ISBN 978-3-936180-28-2 , p. 400 pp .
  3. ↑ Jay M. Savage: The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas . University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London 2005, ISBN 978-0-226-73538-2 , pp. 945 .
  4. ^ Roger Conant & Joseph T. Collins: A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians Eastern / Central North America . Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston 1991, ISBN 0-395-58389-6 .
  5. ↑ a b Alexander C. Ruthven: The amphibians and reptiles collected by the University of Michigan-Walker Expedition in southern Vera Cruz, Mexico . In: Zool. Year band 32 , 1912, pp. 295-330 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h Basiliscus vittatus - Brown Basilisk. In: animaldiversity.org. University of Michigan - Museum of Zoology, 2001, accessed March 27, 2021 .
  7. ↑ a b c d Tom W. Brown, Maya Masters, Isabella Rossito & Daisy F. Maryon: Egg laying cycle by Basiliscus vittatus WIEGMANN, 1828 on the island of Utila, Honduras, including observations of nest excavation and in-situ data on the morphology of hatchlings . In: Sauria . tape 41 , no. 2 , 2019, p. 55-62 .
  8. ↑ a b c Joshua Laerm: Aquatic Bipedalism in the Basilisk Lizard: The Analysis of Strategy of Adaptive . In: The American Midland Naturalist . tape 89 , no. 2 , 1973, p. 314-333 , doi : 10.2307 / 2424037 .
  9. ↑ a b c d e James T. Strout & Sean T. Giery: Nesting Behavior of Introduced Brown Basilisks (Basiliscus vittatus) in Southern Florida . In: ICRF Reptiles & Amphibians . tape 23 , no. 2 , 2016, p. 104-107 .
  10. ^ S. Tonia Hsieh & George V. Lauder: Running on water: Three-dimensional force generation by basilisk lizards . In: PNAS . tape 101 , no. 48 , 2004, p. 16784-16788 , doi : 10.1073 / pnas.0405736101 .
  11. ↑ Gianna-Carina Grün: The lizard that walks over the water like Jesus. In: zeit.de. January 3, 2012, accessed March 27, 2021 .
  12. ^ Wilson, LD, Nicholson, K. & Flores-Villela, O .: Basiliscus vittatus . In: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016, p. e.T197460A2485788 , doi : 10.2305 / IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T197460A2485788.en .
  13. ^ "Basilisk", made available by the digital dictionary of the German language, https://www.dwds.de/wb/Basilisk , accessed on March 27, 2021.
  14. ^ Wilhelm Pape , Max Sengebusch (arrangement): Concise dictionary of the Greek language . 3rd edition, 6th impression. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1914 ( zeno.org [accessed April 5, 2021]).
  15. ↑ Basiliscus vittatus WIEGMANN, 1828. In: reptile-database.reptarium.cz. The reptile database, accessed March 27, 2021 .