Girdled and Plated Lizards: Cordylidae

The species in this family eat almost anything that they can find or catch. The flat and girdle-tailed lizards hunt by ambush, which means that they lie in wait for an insect to wander by. When the insect or other invertebrate (in-VER-teh-breht), which is an animal without a backbone, comes close enough, they rush out to nab it. They will also eat berries and leaves. The plated lizards are not ambush hunters. Instead, they root around through the soil and piles of leaves to find their meals, which are usually invertebrates. Although they can be quite large animals, the plated lizards move very slowly. Nonetheless, they are able to capture small snakes and lizards occasionally for a bigger meal.