Editing Lizard (section)

===Antipredator adaptations===
[[File:Frilled-lizard500.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The [[Chlamydosaurus|frilled-neck lizard]] with fully extended frill. The frilled neck serves to make it look bigger than it actually is.]]
{{main|Antipredator adaptation}}
Lizards have a variety of [[antipredator adaptation]]s, including running and climbing, [[venom]], [[camouflage]], tail [[autotomy]], and [[reflex bleeding]].

====Camouflage====
Lizards exploit a variety of different [[camouflage methods]]. Many lizards are [[disruptively patterned]]. In some species, such as [[Aegean wall lizard]]s, individuals vary in colour, and select rocks which best match their own colour to minimise the risk of being detected by predators.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Marshall, Kate |author2=Philpot, Kate E. |author3=Stevens, Martin |title=Microhabitat choice in island lizards enhances camouflage against avian predators |journal=Scientific Reports |date=25 January 2016 |volume=6 |page=19815 |doi=10.1038/srep19815|pmid=26804463 |pmc=4726299 |bibcode=2016NatSR...619815M }}</ref> The [[Moorish gecko]] is able to [[adaptive camouflage|change colour]] for camouflage: when a light-coloured gecko is placed on a dark surface, it darkens within an hour to match the environment.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Yong |first1=Ed |title=Lizard 'Sees' With Its Skin For Automatic Camouflage |url=http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/16/lizard-sees-with-its-skin-for-automatic-camouflage/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719043136/http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/16/lizard-sees-with-its-skin-for-automatic-camouflage/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 19, 2014 |magazine=National Geographic |date=16 July 2014}}</ref> The [[chameleon]]s in general use their ability to change their coloration for signalling rather than camouflage, but some species such as [[Smith's dwarf chameleon]] do use active colour change for camouflage purposes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stuart-Fox |first1=Devi |last2=Moussalli |first2=Adnan |last3=Whiting |first3=Martin J. |title=Predator-specific camouflage in chameleons |journal=Biology Letters |date=23 August 2008 |volume=4 |issue=4 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2008.0173 |pmid=18492645 |pages=326–329|pmc=2610148 }}</ref>
The [[flat-tail horned lizard]]'s body is coloured like its desert background, and is [[Camouflage#Eliminating shadow|flattened and fringed]] with white scales to minimise its shadow.<ref name="Sherbrooke">{{cite book | title=Introduction to horned lizards of North America | publisher=University of California Press | author=Sherbrooke, WC | year=2003 | pages=117–118 | isbn=978-0-520-22825-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zXlLdu3956gC&pg=PA118}}</ref>{{Clear}}

====Autotomy====
<!--[[File:Lizard tail autotomy.JPG|thumb|Lizard tail [[autotomy]]]]-->
[[File:Severed skink tail.webm|thumb|A skink tail continuing to move after [[autotomy]]]]

Many lizards, including [[gecko]]s and [[skink]]s, are capable of shedding their tails ([[autotomy]]). The detached tail, sometimes brilliantly coloured, continues to writhe after detaching, distracting the predator's attention from the fleeing prey. Lizards partially [[regeneration (biology)|regenerate]] their tails over a period of weeks. Some 326 genes are involved in regenerating lizard tails.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-discover-how-lizards-regrow-tails-9681841.html Scientists discover how lizards regrow tails] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027042902/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-discover-how-lizards-regrow-tails-9681841.html |date=2017-10-27 }}, The Independent, August 20, 2014</ref> The fish-scale gecko ''[[Geckolepis megalepis ]]'' sheds patches of skin and scales if grabbed.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Scherz|first1=Mark D.|display-authors=etal|title=Off the scale: a new species of fish-scale gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Geckolepis) with exceptionally large scales|journal=PeerJ |date=2017 |volume=5 |pages=e2955 |pmid=28194313 |doi=10.7717/peerj.2955 |pmc=5299998 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

====Escape, playing dead, reflex bleeding====
Many lizards attempt to escape from danger by running to a place of safety;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cooper | first1=William E. Jr. |title=Initiation of Escape Behavior by the Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) |journal=Herpetologica |date=2010 |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=23–30 |doi=10.1655/08-075.1 |s2cid=84653226 }}</ref>{{efn|The BBC's 2016 ''Planet Earth II'' showed a sequence of newly-hatched [[marine iguana]]s running to the sea past a waiting crowd of [[Galapagos racer|racer snake]]s. It was edited for dramatic effect but the sections were all genuine.<ref>{{cite web |title=From Planet Earth II, a baby iguana is chased by snakes |url=http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161114-from-planet-earth-ii-a-baby-iguana-is-chased-by-snakes |publisher=BBC |date=15 November 2016 |access-date=6 July 2017 |archive-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502200038/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161114-from-planet-earth-ii-a-baby-iguana-is-chased-by-snakes |url-status=live }}</ref>}} for example, wall lizards can run up walls and hide in holes or cracks.<ref name=Spinner2014/> Horned lizards adopt differing defences for specific predators. They may [[thanatosis|play dead]] to deceive a predator that has caught them; attempt to outrun the [[rattlesnake]], which does not pursue prey; but stay still, relying on their cryptic coloration, for ''[[Masticophis]]'' whip snakes which can catch even swift prey. If caught, some species such as the [[greater short-horned lizard]] puff themselves up, making their bodies hard for a narrow-mouthed predator like a whip snake to swallow. Finally, horned lizards can [[autohaemorrhaging|squirt blood]] at [[Felidae|cat]] and [[Canidae|dog]] predators from a pouch beneath its eyes, to a distance of about {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=off|spell=in}}; the blood tastes foul to these attackers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hewitt |first1=Sarah |title=If it has to, a horned lizard can shoot blood from its eyes |url=http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151105-if-it-has-to-a-horned-lizard-can-shoot-blood-from-its-eyes |publisher=BBC |date=5 November 2015 |access-date=6 July 2017 |archive-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502200020/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151105-if-it-has-to-a-horned-lizard-can-shoot-blood-from-its-eyes |url-status=live }}</ref>