lizard Reptile found on every continent; there are 20 families, c.3000 species. Most have a scaly, cylindrical body with four legs, a long tail and moveable eyelids. Some species such as glass snakes, slow-worm and some skinks, have reduced or absent limbs. Most lizards are terrestrial, and many live in deserts. There are also semi-aquatic and arboreal forms. Many lizards have an autotomic defence mechanism – they shed their tail when attacked. Most lay eggs rather than bear live young. They feed mainly on insects and vegetation. They range in size from the c.5cm (2in) gecko to the 3m (10ft) komodo dragon. Order Squamata; sub-order Sauria. See also chameleon; gecko; iguana; monitor

LIZARD

LIZARD (Heb. לְטָאָה), reptile included among the eight creeping things that are prohibited as food and whose dead body defiles anything with which it comes into contact (Lev. 11:30–39). Talmudic literature states that its tail moves convulsively when cut off (Oho. 1:6), that in intense heat it remains immovable, stirring only when water is poured over it (Pes. 88b). Both features are characteristic of various species of lizard, but the reference is apparently mainly to those belonging to the family Lacertidae, of which four genera (that include ten species) are to be found in Israel. Of the Lacerta, the most common are the brown lizard (Lacerta laevis) and the great green lizard (Lacerta viridis) which is the largest and most beautiful of this family, is commonly found in the mountainous regions, and feeds on insects. The dab lizard, which belongs to another family, is apparently to be identified with the צָב (ẓav), likewise included among the unclean creeping things (see *Tortoise).

bibliography:

Lewysohn, Zool, 221f., no. 272; J. Feliks, The Animal World of the Bible (1962), 96; M. Dor, Leksikon Zo'ologi (1965), 177f. add. bibliography: Feliks, Ha-Ẓome'ah, 248.

[Jehuda Feliks]

liz·ard / ˈlizərd/ • n. a reptile that typically has a long body and tail, four legs, movable eyelids, and a rough, scaly, or spiny skin. • Suborder Lacertilia (or Sauria), order Squamata: many families.

lizard XIV. ME. lesard(e) — OF. lesard, -arde (mod. léz-), repr. L. lacertus, lacerta, which appears to be identical with lacertus muscle.

lizard See SAURIA.