📷 Marcel Burkhard/ Cele4, www.tierlexikon.ch · CC BY-SA 3.0
📷 Hans Hillewaert
📷 Anil Öztas
IUCN: Least Concern
Green Basilisk
Basiliscus plumifrons
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassReptilia›OrderSquamata›FamilyCorytophanidae›GenusBasiliscus
About
The green basilisk earns its nickname ‘Jesus Christ lizard’ honestly: when startled it drops into a stream and sprints upright across the surface, fringed hind toes slapping the water into a cushion of air that holds it up for 5–10 m before it swims away. Males sport a tall crest of green and blue on the head, back, and tail, which they flash from branches over the water. Females lay clutches of eggs in the warm soil of the forest floor.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Humid rainforests along streams, rivers, and ponds
🍃Diet Insects, snails, small fish, frogs, and fruit
📏Size & Weight Body about 25 cm; up to 75 cm with tail
•Weight About 200–500 g
⏳Lifespan Estimated 7–10 years in the wild
🗺Range Central America: Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama
ReptileLizard
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Humid rainforests along streams, rivers, and ponds
🍃Diet Insects, snails, small fish, frogs, and fruit
📏Size & Weight Body about 25 cm; up to 75 cm with tail
•Weight About 200–500 g
⏳Lifespan Estimated 7–10 years in the wild
🗺Range Central America: Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama
Photo Credits
#1Marcel Burkhard/ Cele4, www.tierlexikon.ch · CC BY-SA 3.0
#2Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0
#3Anil Öztas · FAL
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