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The Helmeted Basilisk Lizard, Corytophanes cristatus (Merrem, 1821). Photographed in Cayo, Belize in the Macal River drainage. This particular individual was found in a cave, but they normally inhabit low and middle elevations from Veracruz, Mexico to Colombia. They use old secondary forests and primary forests and are extremely cryptic. Helmeted Basilisks probably spend considerable time in the canopy. They sit in the vegetation, often on vines and tree trunks waiting for prey, large arthropods and small lizards. It has some color change ability, but lacks the speed and grace of the Basiliscus, on the ground it is bipedal, but relatively slow and clumsy. It relies primarily on its cryptic coloration and behavior to avoid predation. Note that the fourth picture in the series shows it keeping a liana between itself and the camera, and that it is difficult to see in the vines, although it was watching me while it was being photographed. Adults attain a body length of at least 120 mm, and a tail that can be twice the body length. Females lay 5-8 eggs. Savage (2002, The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica, University of Chicago Press) described the defense repertoire of this species.
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| The Green Basilisk Lizard, Basiliscus plumifrons Cope, 1875. Photographed in northeastern Costa Rica. This is an adult male. Body length may reach 250 mm, and the tail may be almost 3 times the length of the body. These lizards use streams running through wet forests, and it rarely leaves the stream edge. It is active during the day, but can be found sleeping on the vegetation at night. Juveniles tend to be insectivorous, but larger adults are more herbivorous. Crustaceans and bats have been reported in the diet. Four to 17 eggs are laid that require 55-75 days of incubation. The Green Basilisk occurs on the Caribbean slope from Honduras to Panama and occurs in southwest Costa Rica on the Pacific side of Central America. |
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| The Brown Basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus Weigmann, 1828. Photographed near Limon, Costa Rica. Body lengths up to 132 mm, with a tail that may be more than twice the body length. The Brown Basilisk ranges from Jalisco and Tamaulipas, Mexico southward to northwest Colombia. It has also been introduced into Florida. It is more common that the Green Basilisk and will wander farther from water. Habitats used include forest, coconut groves, gardens, and pastures. It is diurnal, but can be found sleeping in vegetation at night (see bottom photo). Females lay 2-18 eggs at a time, and may lay as many as 4-5 clutches per year. Incubation is 50-70 days. Juveniles are mostly carnivorous, adults eat more vegetation. |
| The casqueheaded lizard family is composed of three genera and nine species restricted to Central America and northern South America. All have large crests, the head crests may be bony or integument in origin. Casqueheaded lizards tend to be bipedal, at least some of the time; have laterally compressed bodies, long limbs, and a long tail. Most inhabit forests, and forest-edge situations and are very visually oriented predators. One, Corytophanes cristatus is a cryptic, ambush predator with a strongly laterally compressed body similar to the true chameleons, and seems to be convergent with the chameleons in many aspects of its morphology and behavior. Perhaps the best known members of this family are the basilisk lizards (of the genus Basiliscus) which are often associated with stream edge environments and are well known for their ability to run over the surface of the water for some distance, because of this ability they are locally known as the Jesus Christ lizards. At night these lizards may be found sleeping on the vegetation. Most lay eggs, but one species is viviparous. |