Shovel snouted lizard on sand, Namib desert, Namibia

The shovel-snouted lizard (Meroles anchietae) is another of many desert-adapted creatures of the Namib. To prevent their feet from burning they have adapted a thermal dance to lift their feet off the hot sand – a front leg and opposite hind leg lifts on a rotational basis. Should it get too hot, the shovel-snouted lizard will dig into the dune sand or run up the dune to the shaded side where temperatures are cooler.

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