The spotted sand lizard is a small lizard with a spotted pattern on its body. It lives in the sandy deserts of southern Africa and runs quickly on loose sand.
The spotted sand lizard has special scales on its legs and eyelids that help it live on hot sand. It is important for desert nature because it eats insects and serves as prey for larger animals.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Offspring
Worker
Elders
Tail size
small invertebrates
Bro
birth time
Taxons
Hot and almost no precipitation
if born as {name}
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
arid terrestrial biotopes with sparse vegetation
Close
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?
fast running and pouncing on prey
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
adult
Maturity
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
insects
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
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.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
No results found
Trophic type
Filters
running
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
Cold and almost dry
insectivore
Body color
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
Lifespan
birth year
Maturity
Desert and dry shrubs
16 to 24 grams, 7 – 12 centimeters
Very hot and almost dry
Age (juvenile)
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
Age (from birth to death)
sq mm
yr
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Age (larva)
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?
spiders
small invertebrates without further specification
Very dry
Neither
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
from birth to adulthood
Lifespan average
What do they eat?
dry and cold almost all year round
Where do they live?
young after fast growth
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
Regeneration
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
early young
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
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
very dry and cold, very little snow and rain
Share
Very hot and dry
Duration
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
live insects
This is me
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Gamers
Pets
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
very hot during the day, cold at night, almost no rain
terrestrial
Legs size
{name} jubilee
Asexual
swap
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
active predation
desert and semi-desert
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?
Cold desert
Tail color
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
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
°C
Not specified
Hermaphrodite ⚥
arid
Where are they found?
Mandarin
embryo
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap