When you picture a lizard, you probably don’t imagine wings like a bird, horns like a rhino, feet like a spider or no legs at all, like snakes.! But lizards come in many more shapes and sizes than you might think. In fact, there are lizards out there with every one of these traits! These funky features help them live in rainforests, mountains, deserts and even on tiny islands. That means their bodies can tell us a story about how they have lived and changed over a very long time.
I study lizards like a detective, collecting clues about how they look, what they eat, and how they behave. I use these clues to figure out how they live in the wild. Those clues can also tell me where they came from thousands of years ago. They can even help us think about where they might go in the future. My work takes me all over the country, sometimes searching for them in nature, and other times in museums studying lizards from hundreds of years ago. Along the way, I’ve even helped find two new species!
I didn’t know I would end up studying lizards, I love all kinds of animals! I did not choose my job until I was a few years into university. I met lots of great scientists there who showed me how cool they can be. Australia is a really great place to study lizards because we have more here than any other country in the world! But even though they are everywhere, they can be easy to miss. They can run away before you’ve even noticed them, or sit so still they disappear. Because of that, they don’t always get as much attention as bigger or louder animals. But that’s what makes them so exciting, like a mystery left hiding in plain sight. So next time you are outside, take a moment to explore around you. You might find your next interest looking back!
