How does the length and structure of the long tail vary among different species of lizards?
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The length and structure of the long tail vary significantly among different species of lizards. Tail length shows remarkable variation within and between clades, making it an unreliable measure of size compared to snout-vent length . Tail characteristics often correspond to habitats and lifestyles, with semi-aquatic species having laterally compressed tails, while terrestrial species living under rocks have coarse, spinous tails . Tail movement is crucial for vertebrate locomotion, with tail length relative to body length affecting step length and tail deflection relative to spine deflection increasing with speed . Additionally, tail anomalies like bifurcation are recorded in various lizard families, often attributed to injuries rather than congenital malformations . These diverse tail variations reflect adaptations to different ecological niches and locomotor behaviors among lizard species.
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15 Citations | Tail length and structure vary among lizard species; semi-aquatic varanids have tall fins, large non-aquatic varanids have compressed coarse tails, while arboreal species possess coarse tails. |
| Tail length and structure can vary among lizard species, with tail bifurcation being a recorded anomaly in Sauromalus ater, a member of the Iguanidae family, reaching up to half of its total length. | |
| Tail base deflection varies with speed, not tail curvature, among lizard species. Tail length relative to body size affects step length, and tail deflection increases with speed. | |
| Not addressed in the paper. | |
| Not addressed in the paper. |
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