Chinese Crocodile Lizard

This semiaquatic lizard is found only in China and Vietnam. It is gray-brown with red-orange markings along its throat and sides. Two rigid rows of scales along its tail give this reptile a crocodilian appearance. ... These reptiles are sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females look different.Show more

The Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) is a semiaquatic lizard found only in cool forests in the Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou Provinces of southern China, and the Quảng Ninh Province in northern Vietnam. The Chinese crocodile lizard spends much of its time in shallow water or in overhanging branches and vegetation, where it hunts its prey of insects, snails, tadpoles, and worms. Individuals in captivity may be fed baby mice.[3] A rare and little-studied lizard, it is listed in CITES Appendix II, which regulates international trade of specimens.[2] This is the only species in the monotypic genus Shinisaurus.