The Kgalagadi acontias is a legless lizard from the skink family. It lives in sandy soils of southern Africa and spends almost its entire life underground.
The Kgalagadi acontias differs from other lizards by the complete absence of legs and living underground. It helps maintain balance in desert soil by eating harmful insects.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Worker
Elders
Bro
birth time
Describes the act of excavating soil or substrate to locate or access food.
Taxons
Hot and almost no precipitation
carnivore
if born as {name}
Forages within or on the surface of soil or substrate.
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
age
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
birth date
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Close
searching and catching prey in the sand
was
days
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
adult
Maturity
centipedes
primary food sources
burrow
24 to 38 grams, 10 – 25 centimeters
Potential Habitat
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Repro interval
results
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Eyes count
Body size
Colors
Sex
very hot and almost no rain
{name} birthday
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
soil
rains are very rare, almost a desert
No results found
underground
Trophic type
Filters
Eyes color
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
small worms
Upcoming birthdays
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
arid steppe
Lifespan
birth year
Maturity
Desert and dry shrubs
Very hot and almost dry
insect larvae and caterpillars
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
Age (from birth to death)
sq mm
yr
Wanderers
How similar?
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
from birth to adulthood
Lifespan average
What do they eat?
insect larvae
Where do they live?
Rapidly swallows prey or food items whole without chewing.
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Regeneration
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
world of Afrotropics
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Very hot and dry
Duration
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
gulping
This is me
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
digging
Gamers
Pets
How are they built?
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
very hot during the day, cold at night, almost no rain
live centipedes and chilopod myriapods
terrestrial
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
whole swallow
Scales color
{name} jubilee
Eyes size
Asexual
swap
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
active predation
mouth
turns
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Rascals
Where do they take shelter?
celebrated their {n} birthday
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Litter size
Daddies
Tropical savanna
Lifespan maximum
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
very hot and almost no precipitation
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
foraging
small worms without further specification
°C
Not specified
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Tomato
Where are they found?
embryo
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap