There are about 6145 different species of lizard in the world. They represent the largest group of reptiles.
They can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
The smallest lizard found is a dwarf sphaero gecko (Sphaerodactylus parthenopion) that is just 18 mm long. This is closely followed by the Madagascan pygmy leaf chameleon (Brookesia micro) that measures just 29 mm.
The largest living lizard is the komodo dragon (varanus komodoensis).
Lizards have very good eyesight.
Lizards have a range of defence mechanisms to avoid predators which includes the ability to shed their tails. There are also two lizard species that have a venomous bite, these are the beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum) and the gila monster (Heloderma suspectum).