Many religions have holy sacred animals. The Greek god Apollo has holy cows, as have the Indians. But interestingly enough the Christians have none of that matter. At least the son of god gave name to a fascinating reptile species. The Jesus Christ lizard owes its name to the ability of walking on water. Just like the bible attributes it to Jesus himself these small reptiles are capable of defeating the laws of physics which at first glance seems like a small miracle. But in fact their whole anatomy is just perfectly adapted to their natural habitat. The genus is also known as ‘Basiliscus’ and can be found in the tropical rain forests of Latin America. The basilisks feature four species from whom the common basilisk is the largest reaching a total length of 90 centimetres. With their brown to olive colour the Basilisks are ideally camouflaged in the jungle. They mostly live on trees close to the water where they lay in ambush for insects, small frogs and snails. As these prey animals are mostly found in wetlands Basilisks usually live near rivers or jungle lakes. Another part of their diet consists of fruits and flowers.
When the Jesus Christ lizard is being surprised by a predator, such as a larger snake or a bird, it drops to the ground and starts running. In order to make its escape the lizard evolved the strategy of fleeing across the water which makes it impossible for predators to follow. Several factors contribute to this spectacular ability. Firstly the weight of 200 to 500 grams is distributed on large feet and a long tail that comprises around 75% of the whole length. Secondly the basilisks feet touches the water surface vertically which creates a tiny air cushion underneath. Therefore the ascending force increases. Thirdly basilisks are able to run with speeds of up to 24 kilometres per hour despite their small size. Furthermore the way of moving the legs plays a crucial role that has been excessively researched by Toniah Hsieh from Harvard University. The running motion can be split into the downward movement, that creates the air cushions , the backward movement, that generates momentum and the recovery phase. This specific movement of the feet also creates side wards directed forces that contribute to stabilise the lizard during the motion.
Thanks to their unique anatomy and skills adult Jesus Christ lizards are able to run on water for a few metres while the lighter juveniles can even cover a distance of twenty metres. If they didn’t reach solid ground at the end of their sprint the Jesus Christ lizards simply sink in the water. Since all of the basilisk species also possess excellent swimming and diving abilities they can return to land without problems. The example of the Jesus Christ lizard perfectly shows how animals adapt to their environment in every way. If it increases the chances of survival evolution can even create fascinating abilities like walking on water.
Sources:
https://www.zeit.de/wissen/umwelt/2011-12/unterschaetztes-tier-jesusechse?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_basilisk#Geographic_range_and_habitat