Frilled Lizard

• locomociónAt speed it runs upright on its two hind legs to escape predators.
• Its frill opens mechanically when it opens its mouth: rods of cartilage connected to the hyoid bone stretch the skin of the neck, so the animal cannot raise the frill without gaping at the same time.
• It runs on its two hind legs with the body upright and the tail as a counterweight, a bipedal dash it can keep up for tens of metres until it reaches a tree trunk.
• It appears on the Australian two-cent coin, withdrawn from circulation in 1992, and its display inspired the design of the Dilophosaurus in Jurassic Park, which in reality had nothing of the sort.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)

Habitat and environment

Savanna woodland, dry eucalypt forest and scrub of northern Australia and New Guinea

Sexual maturity

18 months

Gestation / incubation

70 days of incubation

Litter / clutch size

12 eggs

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Chlamydosaurus kingii

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.