Fun Earless Lizard Facts For Kids

Do you know some lizards can be earless and look attractive with their vivid coloration simultaneously? We bring to you interesting facts on the earless lizards.

These lizards do not have external ear openings to avoid sandy soils entering them in their habitat range. They are found in many areas of the U.S, like Texas, South Dakota, and Utah. Texas alone has three species of the genus Holbrookia, and the lesser earless lizard is a common occurrence in Texas.

The greater and Lesser earless variety of lizards have coarse and rough scales. Some variants will have granular scales too. Males have a more vibrant coloration of blue and green scales. The throat has two skin folds. The hind legs of these lizards are longer than their forelegs.

As you read on, we will discover even more fun stuff about the Earless lizard. We have compiled fascinating information aboutlava lizards and sand lizards.

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Earless Lizard Interesting Facts

What type of animal is an earless lizard?

The earless lizard comprises two genera, namely Cophosaurus and Holbrookia. These lizard species have an absence of ear openings. The more prevalent species are the greater earless lizard and the lesser earless lizard.

What class of animal does an earless lizard belong to?

The earless lizards belong to the class Reptilia. The reptile class has evolved from the amphibians dating 300 million years back in time.

How many earless lizards are there in the world?

There is no comprehensive study in the areas of population study for these earless lizards. However, some data descriptions indicate their population density varies according to the habitat region and time.

For example, in the description noted, it was recorded that these earless lizards ranged from 107 lizards per hectare at Big Bend, 20 lizards per hectare (2.5 acres) in Las Cruces during the wet season, and 10 per hectare in the dry seasons.

Where does an earless lizard live?

These species of lizards are found in areas of Arid deserts and semi-arid grasslands. In the United States, these reptiles can be found in Utah, South Dakota, Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska, and more.

What is an earless lizard's habitat?

The morphological adaptation makes these lizards adept at living in habitats with sand, pliable soils, and the least vegetation. They are found in areas with an elevation range between 885.9-6889.8 ft (270-2100 m).

They prefer to move around on areas of steep slopes, on desert plants, and on rocky soils. They bury themselves in loose soil when there is a lack of activity.

Who do earless lizards live with?

Either the greater or the lesser earless lizards prefer to live solitary. The males are highly territorial creatures and defend their range of territory while mating. These reptile species are diurnal and hibernate during winter and fall.

How long does an earless lizard live?

The greater earless lizard lives up to three years in the wild, whereas they may live lesser in captivity. In captivity absence of warmer conditions during winter, hibernation reduces their life viability.

How do they reproduce?

The males reach reproductive maturity on average 70 days and females by 50 days. During breeding, males mark their territory by certain body signs like head bobbing and lateral body compressions and attract the females to them.

The gestation period in the life cycle of these creatures lasts for 25-35 days. The eggs are laid in sandy soils for incubation lasting for 50 days. The males are polygynous, and the mating season is from April to August, peaking in June.

The female earless lizard lays an average of five eggs per clutch and five clutches each breeding season. The young hatchlings born from the eggs are independent at birth and lack parental affiliation.

What is their conservation status?

As per the IUCN Red List classification, the earless lizards are in the Least Concern category and hence not endangered yet. However, their population may be facing possible threats from rapid urbanization.

Therefore, conservation methods like restricting vehicular movement in their home range have been suggested to protect these species of animals. The known predators for these lizards are horned rattlesnakes, greater roadrunners, and common nighthawks.

Earless Lizard Fun Facts

What do earless lizards look like?

The dorsal side or the back is distinguished by the light brown base coloration with orange, white, and yellow specks. The variety of colors offer these lizards camouflage in their habitats. The ventral side has two black stripes like markings parallel to each other.

The adult males have darker stripe markings as compared to adult females, which are fainter in coloration. They also have up to 14 dark spots on the back along with these stripes. The spots are visible on the sides of the abdomen.

They have a smaller tail compared to other lizards. The males of reproductive age are larger than the mature females. The legs are thinner.

How cute are they?

Their distinct body coloration and their swift movements on sandy terrains make them delightful persona to watch out for.

How do they communicate?

They use various communication channels using their bodies which can be visual, tactile, or chemical. They raise and wag their tails as a defense mechanism.

If you see an earless lizard doing lateral body compression, head bobbing, and push-up-like activity, you may conclude it is to mark their territory. The females change color on their bodies when she is ready for mating. Pheromones may also be used to attract mates.

How big is an earless lizard?

The lesser earless lizard, Holbrookia maculata, can measure up to 4-5 in (10–13 cm) in length. At the same time, the greater earless lizard sizes up to 3-7 in (7-18 cm) in length. These earless lizards are three times smaller than the Gila monster in length that measures 22 in (56 cm) in size.

How fast can an earless lizard move?

The greater earless lizards are known to be cursorial animals, meaning they have limbs adapted to quick running. They can be observed to run at very high speed with excellent coordination while hunting their prey or escaping a predator. In addition, their long legs, along with their toes, provides them with great agility to move quickly on sandy surfaces.

How much does an earless lizard weigh?

The greater earless lizard weighs 0.14-0.28 oz (4-8 g ). Thus, they are much lighter than the Earless monitor lizards that weigh 1.7 -4.2 oz (48-120 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

The males and females of the species do not have specific terms; they are called male earless lizards and female earless lizards, respectively.

What would you call a baby earless lizard?

As the lizards are born out of an egg, the baby earless lizard will be called a hatchling. The females lay multiple eggs that are leathery and soft. The earless lizard hatchlings are precocial at birth.

What do they eat?

The earless lizards are generally insectivorous, with insects comprising a significant part of their diet. These lizards feed on butterflies, spiders, moths, grasshoppers, and other insects.

Their prey size can range from anywhere between 0.2-1.1 in (6-28 mm). They are opportunistic hunters that help them survive the lean phase of food availability. The elevated body temperature of these earless lizards assists in the digestion process of larger animals consumed as food.

Major predators for these reptile species are snakes and large birds.

Are they dangerous?

No, these lizards are not known to cause any harm to the outside world.

Would they make a good pet?

No, these lizards will not make a good pet. As they are wild animals, their body is better adapted for survival in the wild. Life in captivity is known to be detrimental to the overall health of these lizard species. Therefore, permits are needed to keep these species in captivity.

Did you know...

The earless lizards are often found basking in the sun to generate heat in the body, and they can reach a temperature of up to 104 F (40 C) by doing so. Now that's something unique and special to watch out for.

The blood sinus is a small opening in the lizard's head that helps it gain heat from outside.

The earless lizards have nerve receptors in their tongue that is connected to their vomeronasal organ. This helps them to hunt down their prey and also salvage themselves from predation.

How did the earless lizard get its name?

The common name earless lizard may be misleading as these lizard species are very much capable of hearing. The reason they are called earless is that they lack external ear openings.

This particular adaptation of lacking external ear openings is helpful for the earless lizard to dig deeper in the ground without allowing sand or soil to enter their ears in their unique habitat range.

What are the different types of earless lizards?

Let's understand the names of a few earless lizards. Greater earless lizards, lesser earless lizards, speckled earless lizards, spot-tailed earless lizards, and keeled earless lizards are different types of lizards. Standard features of these earless lizards are unique throat folds, two in numbers, and distinct large eyes.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other reptiles including frilled lizard facts and monitor lizard facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable earless lizard coloring pages.