Thick-tailed stenocercus is a medium-sized lizard with a sturdy body and a tail covered with rings of sharp spines. It lives in the mountainous regions of the Andes in South America and uses the spines for defense against enemies.
This species differs from related lizards by an especially thick tail with distinct rings of sharp spines. It helps maintain balance in mountain ecosystems by eating insects and becoming prey for snakes and birds.
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
Tail size
birth time
ambush
very cold, short summer, lots of moss
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
summer mild, +15…+20 °C
Polar tundra
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
South and Central America, hot and humid, huge forests
Warm summer
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.
adult
Maturity
South and Central America, hot and humid, huge forests
insects
About health
Searches for food on or among rocks and stony surfaces.
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Cool summer
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
limbs
Gremllins
mo
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
alpine meadows and arctic tundra on land
Trophic type
Filters
Warm winter with almost no precipitation
Tail count
always hot and humid, huge trees and vines
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
high in the mountains, cold, lots of grass and shrubs
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
rock
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
Age (larva)
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
nectar
leaves
young after fast growth
Regeneration
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
Montane grasslands
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
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
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
very cold, lots of snow and ice
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
mountain
sweet nectar and flower pollen
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
Tail color
Litter size
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?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
alpine and arctic tundra
Where are they found?
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
38 to 65 grams, 15 – 40 centimeters
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Tropical moist forest
Elders
Bro
Very cold
winter dry and warm
Taxons
if born as {name}
cold, short summer, almost no trees
omnivore
age
Predator remains still and concealed before launching a sudden attack.
birth date
Head size
no permanent shelter
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
Neotropical realm
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
Neotropical realm
teeth
Potential Habitat
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
Mass
young shoots and leaves of plants
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
{name} birthday
No results found
On the map
lunge
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Cold and almost dry
Body color
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.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
Tundra
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?
spiders
Very dry
Neither
from birth to adulthood
What do they eat?
dry and cold almost all year round
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
early young
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
Duration
live insects
This is me
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
terrestrial
Scales color
Asexual
swap
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Orange
Length
kg
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap