Fringe-toed lizard
Fringe-toed lizard
Reptile
A desert lizard whose fringed toes work like snowshoes on loose sand; it can sprint on its hind legs and dives headfirst into the dune to hide.
A fast-running lizard adapted to sandy desert dunes.
💡 Fun Facts
- They have special fringes of scales on their toes that act like snowshoes on the loose sand.
- When running at top speed, they often run only on their hind legs.
- They can dive headfirst into the sand to hide from predators.
Name Story
Acanthodactylus spp. (Old-World fringe-toed lizards; New-World species belong to the genus Uma)
means “the lizard with fringed toes”
likely meaningTwo different groups of desert lizards share the name "fringe-toed", so the exact species on this page should be confirmed; happily, the fringed-toe trick is true of them all.
What does its name mean?
- Acanthodactylus — spiny-toed, thorn-toedGreek (akantha, 'thorn/spine' + daktylos, 'finger/toe')
- fringe-toed — having a comb-like fringe of pointed scales along the toesEnglish
A row of long, pointed scales edges each toe like the teeth of a comb — natural "sand snowshoes" that spread the lizard's weight so it can sprint across loose desert sand and even wriggle down into it to hide.