Curly Tail Florida Lizards Identification

The northern curly tailed lizard had been feeding near a grease bin at a pizza restaurant.

Curly tail florida lizards identification. The dorsal scales are keeled and pointed. Candidate at the university of florida discovered at a pizza parlor turned out to be full of insects an anole sand and pizza grease. The florida fish and wildlife conservation commission says it doesn t know what if any effect the curly tailed might be having on other species in the sunshine state. The curly tailed lizards are native to the west indies with the extant living species in the bahamas turks and caicos cayman islands cuba hispaniola haiti and the dominican republic and nearby small islands.

Curly tails are sturdy robust looking lizards that sometimes grow to a length of 28 cms 11 inches. The omni presence of curly tail lizards in much of south florida can be blamed on several things including pet owners the sugar industry and even a zoo escape. Additionally leiocephalus carinatus and leiocephalus schreibersii have been introduced to florida. The rotund lizard that natalie claunch a ph d.

Enlarge image university of florida ph d. Their curled tail which is held up in the air easily identifies them. In the wild they are an important part of the ecosystem as they provide food for large predators like birds of prey or carnivorous animals. Carinatus resembles lizards of the genus sceloporus but with the tail usually curled upward especially when the lizard is in a horizontal position on rocks or on the ground.

Adults may attain a snout to vent length svl of 10 5 cm 4 1 in or a total length including the tail of 26 cm 10 in. Curly tailed lizards are a popular and attractive pet lizard species that were released in florida during the 1940s to bring the population of sugarcane pests down. Popular in the pet trade the curly tail lizard is native to the bahamas and was introduced to florida in the 1940 s to combat sugar cane pests. The curly tailed lizards vary in size depending.