Chinese crocodile lizard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chinese crocodile lizard |
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| At the Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Shinisaurus
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| Species: |
crocodilurus
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The Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) is a special lizard. It lives partly in water and partly on land. You can find it only in cool forests. These forests are in southeastern China and northeastern Vietnam.
This lizard spends a lot of time in shallow water. It also likes to hang out on branches and plants near the water. It hunts for its food there. It eats insects, snails, tadpoles, and worms. Sometimes, in zoos, they might even eat tiny mice. This lizard is quite rare and not many people have studied it. It is protected by an international agreement called CITES. This agreement helps control the trade of rare animals. The Chinese crocodile lizard is the only living member of its group, called Shinisaurus. Its ancient relatives lived over 120 million years ago!
Contents
About the Chinese Crocodile Lizard
What Does It Look Like?
Chinese crocodile lizards are easy to spot. They are usually green with reddish necks. They often have stripes of light and dark colors. Male lizards are often seen more than females. This is especially true when they are ready to mate.
These lizards are about 40 to 46 centimeters (16 to 18 inches) long. That's about the length of a school ruler! Their most unique features are the rows of bony scales on their back. They also have a strong, muscular tail. These features make them look a bit like a small crocodile.
Males and females look a little different. This is called being sexually dimorphic. Adult males are bigger and have brighter colors. Their colors get even brighter during the mating season.
What Do They Eat?
In China, these lizards eat both small animals with backbones and those without. They are "sit-and-wait" hunters. This means they sit quietly on branches near streams. They wait until they see something tasty. Then, they quickly grab it!
Their diet includes worms, spiders, and water shrimp. They also eat tadpoles, small fish, and sometimes frogs. The lizards in Vietnam prefer land insects. These include cockroaches, crickets, and especially earthworms. Fish or frogs are not usually part of their diet there.
How Do They Behave?
Chinese crocodile lizards can be quite territorial. This means they like to have their own space. In a pond or stream, often only one lizard will live there. They might open their mouths wide to show who is boss. This is called "gaping." It helps them show other lizards who is dominant.
They also swing their tails and lunge at other lizards. This is similar to how some other lizards behave. The dominant lizard might lunge and whip its tail. But they usually do not hurt the other lizard. The weaker lizard will then leave the dominant one's area.
Another interesting behavior is their "push-up" motion. The lizard straightens its front legs and levels its head. They only do this with the front part of their body. Sometimes, they even bob their heads in a circle while doing push-ups!
How Do They Reproduce?
Chinese crocodile lizards are usually ready to have babies by age 3. They are viviparous. This means they give birth to live babies, not eggs. Each spring, a mother lizard can have 2 to 12 fully developed babies.
Their pregnancy lasts for up to 9 months. The baby lizards are born ready to live on their own. The mother does not need to take care of them. Female lizards can have babies every year. Courtship starts in late winter. Mating usually happens in summer, around July and August.
When it's time to mate, the male lizard's colors become much brighter. Males will also nod their heads and approach the females. These are all part of their courtship dance.
Where Do They Live?
Chinese crocodile lizards live in small, separate areas. These are mainly in the Guangxi and Guangdong provinces of southeastern China. The lizards in Vietnam are found on Yên Tử Mountain. This is in the Quảng Ninh and Bac Giang provinces of northeastern Vietnam.
They love clear streams in subtropical forests. They prefer quiet streams in untouched areas. These are often in mountains or dense forests. They live in a cool, rainy climate. They are found at medium heights, from 200 to 1,500 meters (656 to 4,921 feet) above sea level. They like less crowded places. This helps them run away from predators instead of fighting. They use tree holes, rocks, and plants as shelter. You rarely find them on the open forest floor.
Different Kinds of Crocodile Lizards
There are two main types, or subspecies, of Chinese crocodile lizards:
- Shinisaurus crocodilurus crocodilurus (found in southeast China)
- Shinisaurus crocodilurus vietnamensis (found in northeast Vietnam)
The Vietnamese type was first noticed in 2003. It was named a new subspecies in 2016. This was because it had some differences from the Chinese lizards. These differences were in how they lived, their genes, and their looks.
The Vietnamese lizards prefer granite mountains. These places have warmer winters and milder temperatures overall. They also like to sit on higher branches above wider streams. These streams are more active and not fully covered by plants. Their diet is mostly land insects. The Chinese lizards eat more aquatic animals. The Vietnamese lizards also have a slightly longer, pointier head. Their eyes are smaller, and their cheeks are not as deep.
Protecting the Chinese Crocodile Lizard
How Many Are Left?
A study in 2008 guessed there were only about 950 crocodile lizards left in China. They were split into eight small groups. The biggest group had about 350 lizards. This was 36% of all the lizards in China.
In 1978, there were about 6,000 lizards. By 1990, there were only about 2,500. This shows a huge drop in their numbers. Some groups have even disappeared completely. The smallest groups might not survive because they don't have enough variety in their genes. In Vietnam, there were about 60 adult lizards in 2013. By 2015, this number dropped to 41. This decline is happening very fast.
What Are the Dangers?
In 2014, the Chinese crocodile lizard was listed as an endangered species. This means it is at high risk of disappearing forever. Their groups are separated and need very specific places to live. This makes it hard for them to grow their numbers. Most lizards live outside protected areas.
Losing their homes is a big problem. Logging (cutting down trees) hurts Chinese populations a lot. When trees are removed, streams can flood or dry up. This is bad for the lizards. Other dangers include mining pollution, small farms, and dams. Bad fishing methods, like using electricity or poison, also harm streams.
Another big threat is illegal hunting. People hunt them for the pet trade. They also hunt them for meat and for traditional medicine. In Vietnam, road building and coal mining also cause problems. Local tourism can also lead to habitat loss and polluted streams. Climate change might make things worse. Some experts think their forest homes could disappear by 2080.
The lizard became popular in the pet trade in the 1980s. Many were exported each year. This led to their numbers dropping. Because of this, they were put on CITES Appendix II in 1990. This controls their international trade. After 1990, many sellers claimed the lizards were bred in captivity. But most were likely caught illegally. The number of lizards traded often seems higher than the wild population. This suggests that hunters might know about hidden groups of lizards. These lizards are easy to catch because they don't move much. People who hunt them illegally can earn a lot of money.
In 2017, the species was moved to CITES Appendix I. This is the highest level of protection. It means they are in great danger because of hunting and trade.
What Is Being Done to Help?
In China, lizards living in nature reserves are protected. Special breeding programs have started in some reserves. The goal is to release these lizards back into other protected areas. One breeding program seems to have a stable group of lizards. The species has been protected by Chinese law since 1989. But hunting and trading laws are often not enforced. This is especially true outside protected areas. Many zoos in Europe and North America have Chinese crocodile lizards. The Philadelphia Zoo and Zoo Dresden have large groups.
The Vietnamese lizards live entirely within protected areas. But mining and tourism are not well controlled there. Zoos like the Cologne Zoo have helped spread awareness. They use brochures and posters to teach local people and government officials about protecting the lizards. Vietnamese law does not give the species special protection. But hunting animals in protected areas without a permit is illegal. Breeding programs for the Vietnamese lizards are at the Me Linh Station for Biodiversity and Cologne Zoo. Scientists can even test lizard scales. This helps them tell if a lizard was born in captivity or caught in the wild. This helps stop illegal trade.
