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Latin name: Basilicus plumifrons
Native to: Latin America
Maximum length: 16 - 24 inches
Approximate life span: Up to 7 years
The plumed basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons) is a species of lizard native to Latin America. Its natural range covers a swath from Mexico to Ecuador.
Plumed basilisks are omnivorous and will eat insects, small mammals (such as rodents), smaller species of lizards, fruits and flowers. Their predators include raptors, opossums and snakes.
The females of this species will lay 5 to 15 eggs at a time in warm, damp sand or soil. They take between eight and ten weeks to hatch, at which point the young emerge as fully independent lizards.
Males are very territorial; a single male may keep land containing a large group of females with whom he mates.
This lizard is able to run short distances across water using both
its feet and tail for support, an ability shared with other basilisks
and the Malaysian Sail-finned Lizard (Hydrosaurus amboinensis). In Costa Rica,
this has earned the plumed basilisk the nickname "Jesus Christ lizard".
However, it is also an excellent swimmer and can stay under water for
up to 30 minutes.
Further reading
- Hsieh, S. Tonia (2003). "Three-dimensional hind limb kinematics of water running in the plumed basilisk lizard (Basiliscus plumifrons)". The Journal of Experimental Biology 206, 4363-4377.
- Huggins, Barbara (Feb, 2001). Green Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons). The Cold Blooded News.
Female Plumed basilisk Basiliscus plumifrons. The female has no crest.
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External links
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Reptiles 
