Dotted galliwasp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dotted galliwasp |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Diploglossus
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| Species: |
millepunctatus
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The dotted galliwasp, also known as the Malpelo galliwasp, is a special kind of lizard. Its scientific name is Diploglossus millepunctatus. This lizard is a carnivore, meaning it eats meat. You can only find it on Malpelo Island in Colombia. This makes it an endemic species, meaning it lives only in that one place.
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What Does the Dotted Galliwasp Look Like?
Adult dotted galliwasps can grow quite large. They can be up to 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) long. Some of these lizards can weigh as much as 500 grams (about 1.1 pounds). Their bodies are mostly black. However, they have many small white dots all over them, which gives them their name.
What Do Dotted Galliwasps Eat?
The dotted galliwasp has some very unusual eating habits for a lizard. Malpelo Island, where they live, does not have many different types of food. The main things available for them to eat are crabs and seabirds. They especially like to eat a type of bird called boobies.
While these lizards do eat crabs and seabirds, they also eat guano, which is bird droppings. Even more surprisingly, they sometimes approach seabirds returning to their nests. They bother the birds until the birds spit up the food they collected for their own chicks. The lizards then eat this food instead!
How Do Dotted Galliwasps Have Babies?
The dotted galliwasp is a viviparous animal. This means that the mother lizard gives birth to live young. The babies develop inside her body, similar to how mammals do. They do not hatch from eggs laid outside the mother's body.
Where Do Dotted Galliwasps Live?
The dotted galliwasp lives only on Malpelo Island. This island belongs to Colombia. The lizards are quite common there. Malpelo Island is a very rocky place and does not have any trees. It is also a very small island.
Like the marine iguana, the dotted galliwasp can swim short distances in the water. However, they do not swim to find food. They share their island home with two other types of lizards. These are Anolis agassizi and Phyllodactylus transversalis. Both of these lizards are also found only on Malpelo Island.
See also
In Spanish: Lagarto punteado para niños
