{"id":2188981,"date":"2025-11-07T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T05:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2188981"},"modified":"2025-11-01T08:47:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T07:47:28","slug":"7-weirdest-lizards-on-the-planet-these-reptiles-are-so-strange-they-could-be-from-a-sci-fi-movie-except-every-one-of-them-is-100-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/7-weirdest-lizards-on-the-planet-these-reptiles-are-so-strange-they-could-be-from-a-sci-fi-movie-except-every-one-of-them-is-100-real\/","title":{"rendered":"7 weirdest lizards on the planet: These reptiles are so strange they could be from a sci-fi movie \u2013 except every one of them is 100% real"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think lizards are boring sunbathers with scales? Think again. From colour-changing chameleons with swivelling eyes to a real-life ‘flying dragon’ that glides through the air, these bizarre reptiles rewrite the rulebook on weird.<\/p>\n

One can even squirt toxic blood from its eyeballs with sniper-like precision. Dive into the world of lizards so strange they could be from a science-fiction movie \u2013 except every one of them is 100% real.<\/p>\n

Weirdest lizards on the planet<\/h2>\n

Chameleon<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Highly charismatic chameleons aren\u2019t just associated with a catchy 1980s pop hit, they\u2019re famous for being masters of colour change and snatching their prey with super-long tongues. Their eyes are pretty strange as well. Chameleons have amazing panoramic vision thanks to two large, swivelling eyes that can see 180\u00ba horizontally and 90\u00ba vertically.<\/p>\n

Each eye has a cone-shaped lid with a tiny hole in the centre for the pupil. Chameleons can focus each eye separately, switching between monocular (seeing with one eye) and binocular vision (seeing with both eyes).<\/p>\n

There are than 200 species of chameleon in the world, mainly found in rainforests and deserts.<\/p>\n

Thorny devil<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Thorny Devil \/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Who doesn’t need a second head? Covered in spikes, the desert-living thorny devil has a false head on the back of its neck to confuse predators. But that’s not its only weird adaptation \u2013 its ridged scales act as water collectors!<\/p>\n

By making the slightest contact with a source of water, such as dew, soil moisture and rain, the reptile can draw it towards its mouth along the channels between the scales. The water moves against gravity by capillary action.<\/p>\n

North American horned lizard<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Horned Lizard Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This quirky creature has special powers that allows it to wield superiority over potential predators. It boasts excellent camouflage; has armoured, spiky skin; and can inflate its body to double its size.<\/p>\n

But their real super-power is their ability to shoot blood \u2013 loaded with foul toxins gleaned from a diet of venomous ants \u2013 from their eyes, to a distance of up to nine times their body length.<\/p>\n

So precise is their aim that these little lizards can see off wolves and coyotes many times their size, blasting the predators square in the face.<\/p>\n

‘Jesus Christ lizard’<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lizard that can run on water? Meet the green basilisk – also known as the ‘Jesus Christ lizard’ – which can run across water at speeds of 5 feet per second. That’s pretty nippy. They live in Central American rainforests and think nothing of dropping from a tree into the water and sprinting away if threatened.<\/p>\n

Komodo dragon<\/strong><\/p>\n