Collared Lizard

• GeneralIt runs upright on its hind legs, like a dinosaur in miniature.
• It runs on two legs: when chasing prey or fleeing it lifts its trunk and runs upright on its hind legs with its tail as a counterweight, reaching notable speeds over rock.
• That gait has been studied in biomechanics as a model for the first bipedal dinosaurs, and high-speed footage of it appears in textbooks of vertebrate locomotion.
• It preys on other lizards, including juveniles of its own species, which is uncommon among lizards of its size.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)

Habitat and environment

Rocky slopes, canyons and arid stony plains of the central and south-western United States

Size at birth

About 7 cm on hatching

Sexual maturity

2 years

Gestation / incubation

70 days of incubation

Litter / clutch size

6 eggs

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/

Best time: From April to July, in the warm hours, on rocky ground and screes of the central and southern United States; in the breeding season the males take on intense colours.

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.