FRILLED LIZARD

A Frilled Lizard  The agamid lizard Chlamydosaurus kingii is named after the huge ruff or frill of skin around its neck. It is found in northern Australia and New Guinea. When the lizard is disturbed, it opens its mouth wide and raises the frill, which is supported by long extensions of the hyoid, or tongue bone, which act as umbrella ribs.

With spindly legs and a long tail, the Frilled lizard reaches about 3 feet (1 m) in length. It varies in colour from grey to brown to practically black. It can be white to bright rusty-red from below, with a lustrous black chest and throat. It forages searches grasshoppers and other insects from the vantage point of a tree trunk. In a shallow nesting chamber she digs in soft dirt, the female deposits about a dozen eggs. CLASS: Reptilia, family Agamidae, order Squamata.