Frilled Lizard

Quick Take

• That dramatic neck frill looks deadly, yet the frilled lizard's actual defense strategy is far more clever (and surprising) than it appears. See how the frill works →
• It's nicknamed the 'bicycle lizard,' and the reason why is stranger than you'd expect. Find out why it's called that →
• This lizard can go months without eating after a single meal, and the scale of what it consumes in one sitting is hard to believe. Explore its hunting and diet →
• A frilled lizard appeared on Australian currency and at the Paralympics, and its cultural footprint is bigger than most people realize. Discover its cultural legacy →

A frilled lizard also goes by the names frilled-neck lizard, frilled dragon, and frilled agama. It is known for raising its neck frill, or the extra flap of skin around its neck, in an effort to intimidate predators. These lizards live in northern Australia and New Guinea. Upon seeing the raised neck frill of this lizard, some people think it’s venomous or that it spits poison at predators. In reality, this reptile is not venomous and has no poison to spit.

5 Incredible Frilled Lizard Facts

• It’s sometimes called the bicycle lizard because of the way its hind legs move when it’s running.
• They are kept in some households as exotic pets that need special care.
• The female lays eggs up to 8 inches underground.
• Frilled dragons are not poisonous.
• They can live up to 20 years.

Evolution And Origin

The earliest reptiles are believed to have evolved from a Sauropsida ancestor around 315 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. One of the earliest indisputable reptile fossils was Hylonomus, a sauropsid amniote lizard-like animal about 8 inches long. Not long after these first amniotes appeared, they diverged into three groups — anapsids, synapsids, and diapsids — during the late Paleozoic Era, 298.9 million to 252.2 million years ago.

The frilled lizard is believed to have existed for approximately 100 million years, although fossil evidence of a chisel-toothed lizard was found dating back 80 million years to the Cretaceous period. This lizard split from its closest living relative around 10 million years ago.

Classification and Scientific Name

Chlamydosaurus kingii is the scientific name of the frilled-neck lizard. The Ancient Greek word chlamydo means ‘cloaked’ or ‘mantled,’ while saurus means lizard. It’s also called the frilled dragon and the frilled agama. It belongs to the Agamidae family and the class Reptilia.

Appearance And Behavior

A frilled lizard has grayish-brown scales and is usually about 3 feet in length. Though it is rather large, it weighs just over one pound. Two and a half bowling pins lined up end to end equal the length of a 3-foot frilled lizard. A frilled lizard weighing just over one pound is roughly equal in weight to a can of soup.

This reptile has a long tail and claws made for gripping tree trunks to climb quickly. The brown-gray scales of this lizard help to camouflage it in the trees.

The frilled dragon is solitary, spending most of its time alone except during breeding season.

Frilled Lizard’s Neck Frill

This lizard gets its name from the fold of skin, also called a neck frill, that encircles its throat. Most of the time, this fold of skin lies flat like a superhero cape on the lizard’s body. However, when this reptile is threatened by a predator, it raises its neck frill, opens its mouth, and hisses. This makes the lizard look larger and more threatening. In short, the animal does this to frighten predators. Its neck frill measures about 12 inches in diameter. While frilled lizards might look frightening, they’re generally not dangerous and prefer to run away from threats rather than bite.

Raising its neck frill usually confuses a predator long enough for the lizard to start running on its hind legs toward a tree. This makes sense: a confused predator is very likely to let the frilled lizard get away.

Habitat

The frilled lizard lives in northern Australia and New Guinea. This reptile lives in a warm environment. Its habitat includes woodland savannas as well as temperate and tropical forests.

These reptiles spend most of their time high up in the trees. Their dull, grayish-brown skin helps them to blend in with the tree trunks and branches. The scales on the neck frill of this lizard help to prevent loss of moisture in their warm environment. Frilled dragons are quick and can move up and around the trunks of trees in short bursts of speed.

These lizards don’t migrate. They are more active during the wet season (October to April) than they are during the dry season. Though they don’t go into traditional hibernation, they decrease running and other activities as well as eat less during the dry season.

Diet

These lizards are carnivores, eating the food source that is most abundant in their tropical habitat.

What Does A Frilled Lizard Eat?

Insects play a large role in the diet of the frilled agama, aka the frilled lizard. Cicadas, spiders, beetles, ants, termites, moths, and butterflies are all on the menu. These reptiles also eat small mammals such as mice and rats. They’ve been known to eat smaller lizards as well.

When hunting, frilled dragons wait near a mouse’s hole or close to a dead tree where termites live. Then, when the prey appears, the lizard grabs it and won’t let go. These lizards hunt at sunrise and sunset.

This reptile has been known to consume hundreds of thousands of termites in one sitting, then not eat again for months. One termite colony may contain as many as 1 million termites and weigh up to 1,000 pounds. A grand piano, for example, weighs about 1,000 pounds.

Predators And Threats

Birds of prey, dingoes, snakes, feral cats, and larger lizards are all predators of these lizards. These lizards spend most of their time in trees.

As you can see, many of its predators also have access to the trees, making these lizards vulnerable. Their skin allows them to blend in with their leafy environment so they can sometimes hide. Plus, frilled lizards are quick and may be able to outrun their predators. If a lizard climbs down to the ground in search of food, a dingo may capture it before it gets back into the relative safety of a tree.

The conservation status of the frilled agama is Least Concern. However, it does face a few threats. Its habitat is threatened by deforestation. In addition, an increase in feral cats in their living environment has contributed to a decrease in their population.

There are no specific conservation plans in place for this lizard. However, there are some wildlife parks that are home to some of these lizards. Wasur National Park in New Guinea is one example.

What Eats Frilled Lizards?

Birds of prey such as eagles, owls and hawks, snakes, dingoes, larger lizards, and feral cats are predators of these lizards.

Reproduction, Babies, And Lifespan

The breeding season of these lizards runs from September to October. The male lizards compete for females by fighting and displaying their neck frills. Also, a male bobs his head up and down to get a female’s attention. Female lizards lay their eggs between November and February. The eggs are laid from 1 to 8 inches below ground. These lizards usually choose to dig the hole in a sunny area, so the sunlight gives some warmth to their eggs. A female lays from 8 to 14 soft-shelled eggs in one clutch. The incubation period of the eggs is 2 to 3 months. Each egg weighs less than an ounce. Some females have 2 clutches of eggs per season.

Baby lizards are able to survive without any care from their parents after they hatch. Each baby is about as long as an adult’s pinkie finger. And, yes, baby lizards have full use of their neck frill. They can eat small insects, including ants and termites. Generally, a lizard stays with its brothers and sisters for about 10 days before leaving to establish its own life.

This lizard can live up to 20 years. In fact, a 20-year-old frilled lizard living in captivity holds the record as the oldest of its kind.

These lizards can become ill due to a lack of vitamin D and calcium. This causes lethargy and a lack of appetite. Frilled lizards need a certain amount of ultraviolet light each day to receive vitamin D and absorb calcium to keep them in good health.

In Culture

A frilled neck lizard was featured on the reverse side of the Australian 2-cent coin until the early 90s. A frill-necked lizard named “Lizzie” was the mascot for the 2000 summer Paralympic Games. Additionally, an anthropomorphic version of “Lizzie” reappeared as the mascot for the Australian team of the 2020 Paralympic games. The lizard features on the emblem of the Northern Australian regiment.

The frilled lizard has appeared in the culture of different countries and remains an icon of Australian culture.

Population

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the exact population of this reptile is unknown. This is because these lizards are quick to hide, making it difficult to record an accurate count. However, their official conservation status is Least Concern.

Scientists think the population of this lizard is decreasing due to threats to its habitat and an increase in predators such as feral cats.

In the Zoo

• Check out the cool frilled lizards at the Denver Zoo.
• Discover these lizards on display at Little Rock Zoo.