Patrick Byrne was walking the Surf Coast Walk last month when he saw a Jacky Lizard, aka Jacky Dragon, on the path between Red Rocks beach and the Red Rocks car park. He stopped and photographed the Jacky laying an egg in an earth scrape. It was the first of a possible eight eggs, the usual Jacky Lizard clutch.
Jacky Lizard
Jackys are found along the east coast of Australia in coastal woodlands and sclerophyll forests. They lay between October and February and the eggs take 40 to 100 days to hatch. Whether the babies are male or female depends on the soil temperature of the nest. Females result from low or high temperatures. Males develop in the mid-temperature range.
The Jacky Lizard, Amphibolurus muricatus, was one of the first Australian reptiles noted by Europeans; its description by English zoologist George Saw was published in 1790.
Ann Feilding