Reproduction

How does the land mullet produce its young?

Land mullets are considered to be monogamous and remain with the same partner each breeding season.

These lizards give birth to live young with an average of four young per litter though some have been recorded with up to 9 individuals. Females give birth after a 3 month gestation period.

These young stay with their mother who does not give birth again for two years.

Juvenile land mullets have a series of white spots in among the scales on the back. These will fade as they age.

Behavior

What does the land mullet do with its day?

During the day these lizards will sit in areas of sunshine to warm their bodies.

Land mullets live in a group made up of a pair and their juvenile young. When young reach maturity they are encouraged to leave the group.

Across much of their range they are described as a shy species which will flee to a burrow if a threat is detected.

Credit: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Predators and Threats

What is impacting the survival of the land mullet?

When threatened by a predator the land mullet has the ability to sever its own tail providing a distraction to the predator while the lizard escapes unharmed.

Populations of the land mullet are believed to be suffering rapid declines primarily due to the presence of the invasive cane toad which now occurs across the entire range. They will attempt to eat the toad and will succumb to the poison.

In some areas, development and invasive plants can make habitat unsuitable.

While these animals are kept as pets the majority of individuals in the trade come from captive bred populations.

Quick facts

Their name is thought to be a reference to the fish-like scales which cover their body and also the pungent, fish-like odor which is emitted if they are threatened.