Hallo nature-loving viewers and welcome to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants on Supreme Master Television. Today we will explore the spectacular world of lizards!

Lizards are among the oldest animals on Earth, first appearing more than 200 million years ago alongside dinosaurs. Lizards vary greatly in size, with the smallest just a few centimeters in body length. The Komodo Dragon is the largest lizard species measuring up to three meters from head to tail. To date, thousands of different kinds of lizards have been identified. They are found in almost all parts of the world except Antarctica. The skins of these exotic animals are typically dry and scaly.

Most species of lizards have four limbs, but some only have two and others, that are more snake-like, do not have legs at all. Lizards are found in a diverse range of habitats. In the forests, deserts, jungles, marshes, prairies, and rocky areas, we can find lizards on the ground or in trees.

These reptiles are ectotherms, meaning they are cold-blooded and thus their body temperature is dependent on the amount of heat in their external environment. It is no wonder that lizards love to bask in the Sun! During cold weather lizards will hibernate in order to survive the harsh conditions.

Lizards are an important part of the ecosystem and sometimes function as pollinators and seed dispersers. For example, Geckos that drink nectar from flowers of certain plants help transfer pollen from one plant to another.

Chuckwallas live in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern US, and may eat fruit, buds, leaves and flowers. The Desert Iguana of the southern US and the Uromastyx or Spiny-tailed lizard of the Middle East also have a similar diet. A lizard species that is known as a strict vegetarian is the Monkey-tailed skink of the Solomon Islands. The skink is active during the night, dining only on plants and fruits, and makes his home in the tropical rainforest.

Some lizards can live for a very long time. A Mexican beaded lizard can live for more than 30 years, while a Cayman Island Rock Iguana typically lives for over 50 years. Depending on the species, some lizards are adept at swimming, while others can even fly. The Draco lizard, a tree dweller found in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines uses wing-like membranes connecting their front and rear legs to glide through wooded areas. With their claws down, Geckos are sure-footed climbers.

They are the only species of lizard with well-developed vocal cords allowing them to chirp like a bird or bark like a dog. Geckos can also click their tongues against the roofs of their mouths. What’s more remarkable is that some species of lizards; such as the Basilisk lizards of Central America can run across water on their hind legs alone! With the help of special scales on their feet which help to distribute weight, these lizards can run for 4.5 meters at a rate of 1.5 meters per second without sinking!

Lizards have exceptionally good eyesight. New Zealand’s native Tuatara even has a third eye on top of his head! This special eye is not used to see, rather it is utilized to regulate the amount of time spent sitting in the Sun. It is challenging to see the eye in adult Tuataras as it is covered with scales.

Many lizards also have the ability to change colors. The chameleon is famous for this behavior which they use as a form of communication and as a camouflage. Different species can change colors ranging from yellow, brown, black, green, red, orange, blue and pink. The color is also an indication of the physical and physiological state of the lizard.

One of the greatest skills of these beautiful reptiles is the ability to escape danger in a flash! Most lizards have tapering tails and some can detach them in an emergency for a quick getaway. A smaller and softer tail will eventually grow back in time. The sophistication and complexity of lizards does not end there!

In 2010, Dr. Ngô Văn Trí of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) noticed that a group of lizards he saw in the Mekong Delta region all appeared exactly alike and every single one was female. He sent photographs to his colleague in the USA, Dr. L. Lee Grismer a herpetologist and Dr. Grismer’s son Jesse, a herpetology doctoral student. The Grismers came to Âu Lạc (Vietnam) to see the lizards first-hand. With the help of local school children, Dr. Văn Trí and the Grismers found nearly 70 lizards of this species in the area, and all were females.

The scientists concluded that these amazing beings are able to reproduce by cloning themselves through a process known as parthenogenesis. All baby lizards that hatch are females and are exact genetic copies of the mother. In honor of Dr. Ngô Văn Tri, the species has been named after him and is now formally known as “Leiolepis ngovantrii.”

In the group of sand lizard species, there are eight species in the world. And this is the fourth species known as a self-cloning species. The first species and the second one were publicized by Mr. I.S. Darezsky, an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

He publicized the species named Guentherpitersi of Central Âu Lạc (Vietnam). This is the second self-cloning lizard species in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) and the fourth self-cloning lizard species in the world, after the species in Thailand. Thailand also has a self-cloning lizard species. And this is the fourth sand lizard species in the world. In fact, there are many other self-cloning species.

Scientists have estimated that the sand lizard species make up about one percent of the total number of self-cloning species in the world, including microorganisms and other species. There are a number of hypotheses that some species self-clone to adapt themselves to environmental changes and their existence in nature. Scientifically up to now, no one has been able to prove how the process of self-cloning happens.

Professor, how is the self-cloning sand lizard species different from other lizard species?

This is a very interesting question for science. Every species has the ability to reproduce itself. But in nature, there are some species which we can call all-female species. Maybe, since they have eggs, people often call them females. In my opinion, they still have something (different) so that we cannot call them females or males. We provisionally call them females because they have eggs. But in regards to biology, their genes are different from normal females’ genes.

For example, the genes of humans or of other species have 2N chromosomes. But this self-cloning species, their genes have 3N chromosomes. As their genes are different, defining their gender identity is rather difficult. It is difficult to say precisely they are masculine or feminine. Because they have eggs, we provisionally call them females.

The Leiolepis ngovantrii reaches a length of about 11.5 centimeters when full grown. The back of the lizard, including the legs, features brown dots and yellow stripes. Her main habitat is the area where the forest transitions to seaside sand dunes. The lizard’s skin provides good camouflage for sandy areas as well as the forest floor during the dry season when the plants turn yellow and brown.

We are standing at the outside of Bình Châu – Phước Bửu Nature Reserve, Xuyên Mộc District, Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu Province, where the sand lizard species live. In the distance is Hồ Linh Mountain, the symbol of Bình Châu - Phước Bửu Nature Reserve. This nature reserve was established in 1992 or 1993. This is the area where the Thèm salamander species lives. This species is big in size. Sometimes in the wild, it can weigh 800 grams, and they have both males and females.

But going into the forest a little farther, just going down about five to seven meters, we will reach the habitat of the self-cloning sand lizard species which American scientists have just discovered. The natural environments are different. There are forests which have sandy soil. In front of us, the terrain looks even and flat. The traces of holes dug by these sand lizards are about 20 to 30 centimeters deep.

This is her hole. Over there is the place where her children live and down here is her place. Her hole is not that deep. Here is the hole in which the sand lizard Leiolepis ngovantrii is living in the sandy earth of the Cajuput Forest.

The traces are still fresh. This lizard has just eaten at noon.

These lizards sometimes live on the grass like that. In the old days, there were numerous sand lizards. Look! Isn’t she beautiful?

Professor, do we now have any policies and activities to protect this valuable and rare species?

Each province, each region has plans to protect this species but in practice this lizard species is not protected. Environmental laws need supplementing and modifying in time to rescue new species which are endangered species or threatened species, or other species which we have not had enough information to list as species being in need of special protection.

Do you want to send any messages to everybody on protecting animals?

From the viewpoint of a conservationist, I think the best is that everyone should not eat meat.

Our accolades, Dr. Ngô Văn Trí, Dr. Lee Grismer and Jesse Grismer for bringing this wonderful all-female species of sand lizard to the attention of the world. Yours is a wonderful discovery and this marvelous being is another demonstration of how all animals and Mother Nature are truly extraordinary.

For more details on the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, please visit www.Vast.ac.vn

Blessed viewers, we enjoyed your serene company today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May Heaven’s Divine light forever guide us to ever more benevolent lifestyles.