One of the 15 lizards on WAnimals
Reptiles · Squamata · Shinisauridae
Chinese Crocodile Lizard
Shinisaurus crocodilurus
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
The Chinese crocodile lizard is the only living member of its family, a lineage with no close relatives that has been isolated for millions of years. It lives beside mountain streams, where it spends the day motionless on branches overhanging the water and drops in at the slightest start. Its crested tail gives it the look of a miniature crocodile from which it takes its name.
Weight
200 g – 400 g
Size
35 cm – 46 cm
Lifespan
12 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Estimated population
Fewer than 1,000 mature individuals
Fun facts
- GeneralIt spends hours motionless on branches overhanging the water; in Chinese it is called the sleeping lizard.
- It is the only living representative of its family, a lineage that split from the other lizards tens of millions of years ago and that has no close living relatives.
- It enters a state of deep stillness that the Chinese call the sleeping lizard: it can stay absolutely motionless on a branch for hours, its eyes open and barely breathing.
- A population was discovered in Vietnam in 2003, hundreds of kilometres from the known Chinese populations, which at a stroke doubled the species' known range.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
- Habitat & environment
- Mountain streams with dense vegetation
- Sexual maturity
- 3 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 9 months of gestation
- Litter / clutch size
- 6 live young
Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Chinese Crocodile Lizard — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
EndangeredDhole
Cuon alpinus
Southeast Asian Box Turtle
Cuora amboinensis
Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
Rhinopithecus roxellana
Black Snub-nosed Monkey
Rhinopithecus bieti
EndangeredSunda Gharial
Tomistoma schlegelii
EndangeredIrrawaddy Dolphin
Orcaella brevirostris
How to help
The chinese crocodile lizard is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
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