Northern Curly-tailed Lizard
Leiocephalus carinatus
Reptilia
UNCOMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- 6-8 yrs
- Size
- Medium
- Diet
- Insectivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Tropical dry forest
- Range
- Caribbean
- Movement
- Running
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Speed
- Status
- Uncommon
About
The northern curly-tailed lizard curls its tail sharply over its back as a territorial bluff display — a behaviour so characteristic it names the entire family Leiocephalidae. Introduced to Florida in the 1940s from Cuba and the Bahamas, it now thrives in urban gardens and parking lots across the southern United States.
Life cycle
- 1.hatchlingA miniature reptile emerges from its egg already independent.
- 2.juvenileA juvenile sheds and grows, often duller-colored than adults.
- 3.adultFully grown with adult size and coloration.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Leiocephalidae
- Genus
- Leiocephalus
- Species
- Leiocephalus carinatus