frilled lizard

frilled lizard
a medium-sized Australian lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingi, having a large, cloaklike flap of skin on the neck that stiffens during courtship or threat displays, forming a wide ruff.
[1860-65; FRILL + -ED3]

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  genus of the reptile family Agamidae, found in Australia and New Guinea and consisting of only one species, Chlamydosaurus kingii. The frilled lizard can run standing up on its hind legs with its forelegs and tail in the air. The scaly membrane around its neck is used as a large part of the lizard's defensive posture. Normally, the neck frill, often as wide as the lizard is long, lies like a cape over the shoulders. When the lizard is irritated or threatened, it can raise the frill perpendicular to its body, enabling it to surprise its enemies by suddenly displaying a head several times its normal size.

      Chlamydosaurus kingii averages 85 cm (33 inches) in length and spends most of its time in trees feeding on insects (insect) and small mammals (mammal).

George R. Zug
 

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Frilled lizard — frilled frilled (fr[i^]ld), a. Furnished with a frill or frills. [1913 Webster] {Frilled lizard} (Zo[ o]l.), a large Australian lizard ({Chlamydosaurus Kingii}) about three feet long, which has a large, erectile frill on each side of the neck.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • frilled lizard — frilled′ liz′ard n. ram an Australian lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingi, with a neck frill that enlarges in courtship or threat displays • Etymology: 1860–65 …   From formal English to slang

  • frilled lizard — noun A lizard with a wide, contractile membranous frill extending from the neck and throat. Syn: frill necked lizard, frilled dragon …   Wiktionary

  • frilled lizard — (also frill necked lizard) noun a large north Australian lizard with a membrane round the neck which can be erected to form a ruff for defensive display. [Chlamydosaurus kingii.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • frilled lizard — noun large arboreal insectivorous Australian lizard with a ruff of skin around the neck • Syn: ↑Chlamydosaurus kingi • Hypernyms: ↑agamid, ↑agamid lizard • Member Holonyms: ↑Chlamydosaurus, ↑genus Chlamydosaurus …   Useful english dictionary

  • frilled lizard — /frɪld ˈlɪzəd/ (say frild lizuhd) noun 1. → frill necked lizard. 2. → bearded dragon (def. 1) …  

  • frilled — (fr[i^]ld), a. Furnished with a frill or frills. [1913 Webster] {Frilled lizard} (Zo[ o]l.), a large Australian lizard ({Chlamydosaurus Kingii}) about three feet long, which has a large, erectile frill on each side of the neck. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lizard — /liz euhrd/, n. 1. any of numerous scaly reptiles of the suborder Sauria, order Squamata, typically having a moderately elongate body, a tapering tail, and two pairs of legs held outward from the body, comprising mostly terrestrial and burrowing… …   Universalium

  • Frilled shark — Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • frilled dragon — /frɪld ˈdrægən/ (say frild draguhn) noun → frill necked lizard …  

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