Species: Bearded Dragon (Amphibolurus barbatus) Taken in Korkeasaari zoo Helsinki Finland 1 week ago.
Use: Social and Thermoregulatory Behavior
Behavioral Postures
Maintenance postures: All general or maintenance behavioral postures or positions are included here.
Sleeping: Eyes closed flat against substrate.
Resting: Flat against substrate, head slightly raised (raised higher than in submission).
Shade rest: Same as resting, but abdomen not flat against substrate, usually slightly or almost completely raised off substrate. Head slightly raised and looking around.
Hidden: Flat against substrate, often with body expanded as in thigmothermic basking. Occurs when approached in the field and presumably is an attempt to rely on protection afforded by concealing coloration. If disturbed further, the lizard goes into a defensive display.
Alert: Head and body raised off ground; tail against ground or tip raised, often looking about.
A variety of feeding and drinking behavioral postures include
Investigative look: body alert, lizard looks up or down, occasionally to side to side and down as in side look down.
Tongue lick: With tongue flicking out toward object or substrate.
Object pickup, Food grab, Pull back of head, Chew, Swallow
Drinking: (Lee and Badham, 1963) The head is down (or occasionally toward or against rock or wall), the tongue goes out, and up, with the mouth barely open.
Tongue flip: The tongue comes out, and up, with the mouth barely open.
Object lean: The lizard holds onto a rock or object with claws of front leg, leans its chest and sometimes part of its belly against the object, bracing against the ground with its hind legs and tail.
Object lean: This differs from extreme positive orientation to sun in that in the latter the belly and claws do not touch the substrate.
Mouth open: May be because of drinking, feeding, tongue lick or flip.
Very nice image of this wonderful looking beast. The sharpness, detail and colours are all very well captured and extremely true to life. The point of focus and depth of field used highlights it's face well and reduces any distractions.
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{K:12434} 4/27/2005
