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The broken tails of lizards can grow back?

Many lizards, except monitors or chameleons, can lose their tails to distract or escape a predator. The tail breaks through a fracture plane in a vertebra. It grows back later.

The teeth of most lizards are replaced throughout their lives, except in the cases of the chameleon and the Agamid lizard.

* Like snakes, lizards have a Jacobsen’s organ, and they smell by ‘tasting’ the air. When lizards flutter the underside of their throats, they are moving air past the Jacobsen’s organ.

* The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard, reaching 10 feet. These lizards are clever hunters. Once they know their prey’s travel routes, they will wait to ambush them. Records for longevity among lizards are probably held by a Mexican beaded lizard, which lived up to 33 years and 11 months, and a Cayman Island ground iguana that lived up to 33 years and five months.

* Flying or draco lizards found in India soar between trees using wing-like membranes linking their front and rear legs. They come to the ground only to mate and to lay their eggs. Unlike other lizards, geckos have vocal cords. The basilisk and the collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) are capable of running on their hind legs. When young, they can even run on water.

* Some horned lizards (Phrynosoma species) can squirt blood from their eyes up to a distanve of four feet.

* The ‘third’ or parietal eye seen on the top of the head of lizards (such as the green iguana) contains a lens and retina-like structure which connects, via nerves, to the pineal gland in the brain. Although it does not form images, this structure is important in governing hormone production.

— Compiled by Gaurav Sood