While we were out in the Valley my boy called me over to look at a lizard. I do like looking at lizards… not as much as birds but they are right up there.
I’m on an eco memes page and there was a thread about lizards and some people were complaining that there were literally zero lizards where they are: people in Calgary or Portland, Maine. I looked it up and they weren’t kidding, zero local lizards. What kind of life is that? There appears to be a “lizard line” in North America.
The Eurasians do better as the Common Lizard lives right up into the high Arctic.

dv said:

While we were out in the Valley my boy called me over to look at a lizard. I do like looking at lizards… not as much as birds but they are right up there.
I’m on an eco memes page and there was a thread about lizards and some people were complaining that there were literally zero lizards where they are: people in Calgary or Portland, Maine. I looked it up and they weren’t kidding, zero local lizards. What kind of life is that? There appears to be a “lizard line” in North America.
The Eurasians do better as the Common Lizard lives right up into the high Arctic.

Today I learned.

dv said:

While we were out in the Valley my boy called me over to look at a lizard. I do like looking at lizards… not as much as birds but they are right up there.
I’m on an eco memes page and there was a thread about lizards and some people were complaining that there were literally zero lizards where they are: people in Calgary or Portland, Maine. I looked it up and they weren’t kidding, zero local lizards. What kind of life is that? There appears to be a “lizard line” in North America.
The Eurasians do better as the Common Lizard lives right up into the high Arctic.

The climate in north America is not only cold in winter, but bloody cold. The Common Lizard apparently hibernates for up to 6 months and has to build up fat reserves during the warmer months to last it over that period. Then you have the geology with north America having tundra or large open plains, whereas in northern Europe there tends to be more cover like forests and rocky areas, which would also provide habitat for other animals that the lizard might eat. Personally I’m not surprised lizards don’t like northern America as it does not appeal to me either. Australia on the other hand is the land of reptiles and it couldn’t be more different when compared to North America.

dv said:

While we were out in the Valley my boy called me over to look at a lizard. I do like looking at lizards… not as much as birds but they are right up there.
I’m on an eco memes page and there was a thread about lizards and some people were complaining that there were literally zero lizards where they are: people in Calgary or Portland, Maine. I looked it up and they weren’t kidding, zero local lizards. What kind of life is that? There appears to be a “lizard line” in North America.
The Eurasians do better as the Common Lizard lives right up into the high Arctic.

For a while I thought I was outside the lizard line in Melbourne.

Even since, I’ve only ever seen two lizard species here: blue tongue (rare) and marbled gecko (common) – in 25 years of looking. Oh, wait on, I’ve also seen eastern water dragons on very rare occasions.

No small skinks at all. Whereas Sydney and Brisbane and Southern Highlands and Perth are full of small skinks. And Brisbane is also full of bearded dragons. And Darwin is also full of geckos.

mollwollfumble said:

dv said:

While we were out in the Valley my boy called me over to look at a lizard. I do like looking at lizards… not as much as birds but they are right up there.
I’m on an eco memes page and there was a thread about lizards and some people were complaining that there were literally zero lizards where they are: people in Calgary or Portland, Maine. I looked it up and they weren’t kidding, zero local lizards. What kind of life is that? There appears to be a “lizard line” in North America.
The Eurasians do better as the Common Lizard lives right up into the high Arctic.

For a while I thought I was outside the lizard line in Melbourne.

Even since, I’ve only ever seen two lizard species here: blue tongue (rare) and marbled gecko (common) – in 25 years of looking. Oh, wait on, I’ve also seen eastern water dragons on very rare occasions.

No small skinks at all. Whereas Sydney and Brisbane and Southern Highlands and Perth are full of small skinks. And Brisbane is also full of bearded dragons. And Darwin is also full of geckos.

However, with climate change warming things up, many lizards and turtles and crocodiles will be making only females. Soon there will be no males.

mollwollfumble said:

dv said:

While we were out in the Valley my boy called me over to look at a lizard. I do like looking at lizards… not as much as birds but they are right up there.
I’m on an eco memes page and there was a thread about lizards and some people were complaining that there were literally zero lizards where they are: people in Calgary or Portland, Maine. I looked it up and they weren’t kidding, zero local lizards. What kind of life is that? There appears to be a “lizard line” in North America.
The Eurasians do better as the Common Lizard lives right up into the high Arctic.

For a while I thought I was outside the lizard line in Melbourne.

Even since, I’ve only ever seen two lizard species here: blue tongue (rare) and marbled gecko (common) – in 25 years of looking. Oh, wait on, I’ve also seen eastern water dragons on very rare occasions.

No small skinks at all. Whereas Sydney and Brisbane and Southern Highlands and Perth are full of small skinks. And Brisbane is also full of bearded dragons. And Darwin is also full of geckos.

A problem for small lizards in cities is peoples gardens are too neat with few if any little places a small lizard can call home. Predators like cats and birds will take them especially if there is little cover for them to hide, which is a reason small native birds also have trouble living in cities.

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

dv said:

While we were out in the Valley my boy called me over to look at a lizard. I do like looking at lizards… not as much as birds but they are right up there.
I’m on an eco memes page and there was a thread about lizards and some people were complaining that there were literally zero lizards where they are: people in Calgary or Portland, Maine. I looked it up and they weren’t kidding, zero local lizards. What kind of life is that? There appears to be a “lizard line” in North America.
The Eurasians do better as the Common Lizard lives right up into the high Arctic.

For a while I thought I was outside the lizard line in Melbourne.

Even since, I’ve only ever seen two lizard species here: blue tongue (rare) and marbled gecko (common) – in 25 years of looking. Oh, wait on, I’ve also seen eastern water dragons on very rare occasions.

No small skinks at all. Whereas Sydney and Brisbane and Southern Highlands and Perth are full of small skinks. And Brisbane is also full of bearded dragons. And Darwin is also full of geckos.

However, with climate change warming things up, many lizards and turtles and crocodiles will be making only females. Soon there will be no males.

most lizards are genetic detemination but certainly crocodiles might have an issue .. turtle species have an ideal range for female while outside that range both ways tend to produce males

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

dv said:

While we were out in the Valley my boy called me over to look at a lizard. I do like looking at lizards… not as much as birds but they are right up there.
I’m on an eco memes page and there was a thread about lizards and some people were complaining that there were literally zero lizards where they are: people in Calgary or Portland, Maine. I looked it up and they weren’t kidding, zero local lizards. What kind of life is that? There appears to be a “lizard line” in North America.
The Eurasians do better as the Common Lizard lives right up into the high Arctic.

For a while I thought I was outside the lizard line in Melbourne.

Even since, I’ve only ever seen two lizard species here: blue tongue (rare) and marbled gecko (common) – in 25 years of looking. Oh, wait on, I’ve also seen eastern water dragons on very rare occasions.

No small skinks at all. Whereas Sydney and Brisbane and Southern Highlands and Perth are full of small skinks. And Brisbane is also full of bearded dragons. And Darwin is also full of geckos.

However, with climate change warming things up, many lizards and turtles and crocodiles will be making only females. Soon there will be no males.

I think the exact opposite. There are far too many places on Earth that are too cold for lizards too live. The average temperature of Earth is only 13.9 degrees and has risen by only about 1 degree since 1880. It’s too cold for the lizards, not too hot. Lizards love warm climates, up to and including the Sahara desert.

mollwollfumble said:

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

For a while I thought I was outside the lizard line in Melbourne.

Even since, I’ve only ever seen two lizard species here: blue tongue (rare) and marbled gecko (common) – in 25 years of looking. Oh, wait on, I’ve also seen eastern water dragons on very rare occasions.

No small skinks at all. Whereas Sydney and Brisbane and Southern Highlands and Perth are full of small skinks. And Brisbane is also full of bearded dragons. And Darwin is also full of geckos.

However, with climate change warming things up, many lizards and turtles and crocodiles will be making only females. Soon there will be no males.

I think the exact opposite. There are far too many places on Earth that are too cold for lizards too live. The average temperature of Earth is only 13.9 degrees and has risen by only about 1 degree since 1880. It’s too cold for the lizards, not too hot. Lizards love warm climates, up to and including the Sahara desert.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex-determination_system#Temperature-dependent

mollwollfumble said:

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

For a while I thought I was outside the lizard line in Melbourne.

Even since, I’ve only ever seen two lizard species here: blue tongue (rare) and marbled gecko (common) – in 25 years of looking. Oh, wait on, I’ve also seen eastern water dragons on very rare occasions.

No small skinks at all. Whereas Sydney and Brisbane and Southern Highlands and Perth are full of small skinks. And Brisbane is also full of bearded dragons. And Darwin is also full of geckos.

However, with climate change warming things up, many lizards and turtles and crocodiles will be making only females. Soon there will be no males.

I think the exact opposite. There are far too many places on Earth that are too cold for lizards too live. The average temperature of Earth is only 13.9 degrees and has risen by only about 1 degree since 1880. It’s too cold for the lizards, not too hot. Lizards love warm climates, up to and including the Sahara desert.

It can get too hot though and they need to seek shelter from the sun on hot days. Temperatures however can influence the sex of many developing reptiles.