Lizards are a diverse group of squamate reptiles that span all continents except Antarctica and most oceanic island chains, with over 6,000 species. Because it excludes snakes and Amphisbaenia, the group is paraphyletic; certain lizards are more closely related to these two excluded groups than to other lizards. Lizards range in size from a few millimeters long chameleons and geckos to the 3 meter long Komodo dragon.

The majority of lizards run quadrupedally, with a powerful side-to-side motion. Others have lengthy snake-like bodies and no legs. Some lizards, such as the Draco lizards that live in the woods, can glide. Males fight off other males and signal, typically with bright colors, to attract mates and scare competitors. Lizards are mostly carnivorous, and many smaller species consume insects, whereas the Komodo devours large animals such as water buffalo.

Lizards employ venom, camouflage, reflex bleeding, and the capacity to sacrifice and regenerate their tails to protect themselves from predators.

Although some are legless, lizards have spherical torsos, high heads on short necks, four limbs, and long tails. The moveable quadrate bone distinguishes lizards and snakes from rhynchocephalians, who have more rigid diapsid heads. Chameleons, for example, have prehensile tails that let them climb over foliage.

Lizards’ skin is coated in overlapping keratin scales, just as other reptiles. This provides environmental protection while also reducing water loss due to evaporation. Lizards can survive in some of the world’s harshest deserts because to this adaptability. The skin of the animal is thick and leathery, and it is shed (sloughed) as it develops. Unlike snakes, who slough their skin in one piece, lizards slough their skin in several parts. For show or defense, the scales may be converted into spines, and some species contain bone osteoderms beneath the scales.

Lizards’ dentitions reflect their varied diets, which include carnivorous, insectivorous, omnivorous, herbivorous, nectivorous, and molluscivorous species. Although most species have uniform teeth that are appropriate to their food, a few have varied teeth, such as cutting teeth in the front of the jaws and crushing teeth in the back. The majority of species are pleurodont, with the exception of agamids and chameleons, which are acrodont.

The tongue is frequently lengthy and can be stretched outside the mouth. The tongue of beaded lizards, whiptails, and monitor lizards is forked and used primarily or exclusively to sense the environment, flicking out to sample the environment and back to transfer molecules to the vomeronasal organ responsible for chemosensation, which is similar to but not the same as smell or taste. Geckos use their tongues to wipe their eyes since they lack eyelids. Chameleons have extremely long sticky tongues that may be extended quickly to capture insects.

The scales beneath the toes of three lineages, geckos, anoles, and chameleons, have been changed to produce sticky pads, which are particularly conspicuous in the first two groups. The pads are made up of millions of microscopic setae (hair-like structures) that fit tightly enough to attach to the substrate via van der Waals forces; no liquid glue is required. Chameleons’ toes are also split into two opposing groups on each foot (zygodactyly), which allows them to sit on branches like birds.

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