A few species, like the western sandveld lizard, stay in underground burrows most of the time. Some, such as Asian grass lizards, climb into plants and bushes and use their very long tails to wrap around stalks and branches. Most of them bask out in the open on rocks or on the ground. BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTIONĪctive during the day, wall and rock lizards typically like to sunbathe, or bask, to warm up their bodies. A few, including the adult giant lizards that live in the Canary Islands, are unique in that they eat almost only plant material. Some species in this lizard family also eat seeds and fruit in addition to insects. The western sandveld lizard is unusual because while it eats some insects, its main diet is scorpions, which the lizard finds by looking for their tunnel entrances and digging them out of the ground. They then spring out and grab the tasty morsel. The bellies of these lizards are usually filled with insects, which they typically capture by sitting very still in one spot- usually in the shade-until an insect wanders by. They are also found on some Atlantic Ocean islands, including the Canaries off northern Africa, Sri Lanka (or Ceylon) off the southern tip of India, and the British Isles. Wall and rock lizards are very common in dry areas, such as deserts, but some species make their homes in forests or in very cold areas, such as grasslands high up in the mountains or in far northern lands inside the Arctic Circle. Wall and rock lizards live in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the East Indies. In some species, such as the oriental six-lined runner, three-quarters of their overall length is tail. The average adult grows to less than 8 inches (20 centimeters) long from head to tail, although a few species in this large family can reach 20 inches (50 centimeters) in length. In many species, the males have more spectacular colors than the females, and males in some species become even more brilliantly hued during the mating season. Fortunately, the lizards can easily drop their tails if they are attacked, allowing the lizard, minus its tail, to escape. Some species have brightly colored tails, which attract the attention of predators (PREH-duh-ters), or animals that hunt them for food. They come in many different colors and patterns from an almost entirely green or drab brown body to a bluish body with black blotches, a body split into a red front and black-and-white speckled back, or a black and cream striped body and red legs. The typical wall or rock lizard has small beaded scales on its back and large square or rectangular scales on its belly. The wall and rock lizards, and their relatives, are small to medium-sized lizards with strong legs, especially the larger back pair, and usually very long tails. SAND LIZARD ( Lacerta agilis): SPECIES ACCOUNT WALL LIZARDS, ROCK LIZARDS, AND RELATIVES: Lacertidae
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