Reptiles

Basilisk Lizard

Basiliscus · also called Jesus Christ lizard, Jesus lizard

Least Concern → omnivoreinsectivore Rainforest Rivers & wetlands Coasts & shorelines

The basilisk lizard has one famous trick. Startled off its branch, it hits the water already running — upright on its hind legs, slapping each broad foot down flat to trap a pocket of air, snatching it back before it sinks. A small basilisk can cross 20 metres of open pond this way, which is why it is better known as the Jesus Christ lizard.

Overview

Basilisk lizards are the genus Basiliscus, four species in the lowlands of Central America and northern South America, always close to water — forest streams, riverbanks, swamp edges, mangroves. They are omnivores, eating insects, small vertebrates, fish, fruit, and flowers, with adults taking more plant matter. Adult males grow tall crests on the head, back, and tail for display, which is what earned the lizard the name of the mythical crowned serpent.

Running on water

Escaping, a basilisk rears onto its hind legs and runs across the surface, each foot slapping down to create an air pocket and lifting out before it collapses. Skin flaps along the hind toes spread on contact to enlarge each slap. Young lizards do it easily; heavy adults break through after a metre or two, because weight rises faster than foot area with size, and then swim — they can stay submerged for many minutes.

A life built around water

Basilisks sleep on branches overhanging streams so a threat below sends them dropping straight in. They mature within a year or two, females lay several clutches a year with no parental care, and wild lizards live only a few years.

Status

All four species are Least Concern and stable, adapting well to disturbed forest, farm edges, and gardens wherever there is water and cover. They are collected for the pet trade and eaten in places, but neither is currently a threat.

Basilisk Lizard: common questions

How does the basilisk lizard run on water?

It combines speed, anatomy, and physics. When it needs to escape, the lizard rears up so that only its hind legs touch down and runs in a fast, upright, high-stepping gait. Each time a hind foot hits the water it slaps down flat and hard, which pushes water away and creates a momentary air-filled cavity around the foot. The lizard then lifts that foot back out of the water before the cavity collapses and slaps down with the other foot. Flaps of skin along the hind toes spread on contact to make each slap bigger. As long as the lizard keeps up the rhythm and its stride rate, the upward force from the slaps and the trapped air is enough to keep it from sinking, and it can cross a surprising distance before it drops in and swims.

Can adult basilisks run on water too?

Not nearly as well as the young ones. The physics works against size. The force a foot slap can generate scales with the area of the foot, but body weight scales with volume, so as a basilisk grows it gets heavier much faster than its feet get bigger. A hatchling weighing a couple of grams can scoot right across a pond. A large adult, at 200 grams or more, can manage only a metre or two of frantic surface running before it breaks through and has to swim the rest of the way. Adults rely more on simply crashing into the water and swimming or diving to escape.

Why is it called the Jesus Christ lizard, and the basilisk?

The nickname Jesus Christ lizard, or Jesus lizard, comes straight from the water-running behaviour and the image of an animal that appears to walk on water. The formal name basilisk is older and refers to the basilisk or cockatrice of European legend, a serpent king said to kill with a glance, whose depictions often had a crest or crown. Early European naturalists gave the name to these lizards because the tall crests on the head and back of adult males suggested the crowned serpent of the myth. The two names capture the lizard's two most striking features, the crest and the run.

Are basilisk lizards good pets?

They are kept, and captive-bred green and brown basilisks are available, but they are not an easy or beginner species. Basilisks are fast, nervous, and highly strung, and a frightened one in a small enclosure will repeatedly run headlong into the glass and can rub its snout raw or injure itself. They need a large, tall, planted enclosure with a big water area for swimming, high humidity, strong heating and UVB lighting, and time to settle before they stop panicking at movement. Handling is generally not tolerated well. For an experienced keeper with space they can do well and become quite bold, but they are a commitment.

Sources & further reading

Written by HideShark Editorial Team · reviewed by HideShark Science Desk. Published September 10, 2026. Last updated September 10, 2026.

Quick facts

Scientific name: Basiliscus
Diet: A broad omnivore taking insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, small lizards, snakes, birds, and mammals, fish and freshwater shrimp, plus flowers, fallen fruit, and leaves, with the balance shifting toward more plant matter as the lizard grows
Running on water: A startled basilisk drops from a branch, rears onto its hind legs, and runs across the surface of a stream or pool, slapping each broad hind foot down flat to create a pocket of air, then pulling it back out before it sinks, and a young lizard can cross 10 to 20 m of open water this way at around 1.5 m per second
Why small ones do it better: The trick depends on the force a slap can generate against body weight, and because weight rises faster than foot area as an animal grows, hatchling and juvenile basilisks run across water easily while heavy adults break through the surface after a metre or two and have to swim
Fringed toes: The hind toes carry flaps of skin along the edges that unfurl on contact with water, roughly doubling the surface area of the slap and the size of the air pocket trapped beneath the foot, and fold away when the lizard runs on land
Built to escape into water: Basilisks live along the banks of forest streams and rivers, sleep on branches overhanging the water so a threat below sends them dropping straight in, and are strong swimmers that can stay submerged for many minutes, so the whole life is arranged around using water as an escape route
The crest is for display: Adult males of some species grow tall crests on the head, back, and tail supported by bony or cartilaginous rods, used in territorial display and courtship rather than for any mechanical purpose, and giving the lizard the dramatic profile that earned it the name basilisk after the mythical serpent king
Fast-growing and short-lived: Basilisks mature within a year or two, and females lay several clutches of 5 to 15 eggs a year in soil, with no parental care, and wild lizards typically live only a few years, offset by high reproduction
Range: The lowlands of Central America and the northern edge of South America, from central Mexico through Central America to Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, always close to permanent water in tropical rainforest, gallery forest, riverbanks, swamp edges, and mangroves, from sea level to around 1200 m, and often seen basking on branches and rocks along forest streams.
Conservation status: Least Concern → ≈ The four Basiliscus species are all common within their ranges and assessed as Least Concern, adapting well to disturbed forest, farmland edges, and gardens as long as there is water and cover nearby, and although they are collected for the pet trade and eaten in some areas, neither pressure is currently considered a threat to the species overall, and populations are regarded as stable in the wild