There are more than 2000 kinds of lizards throughout the world, and the fringe-toed lizard is perhaps the most amazing of all. It gets its name from the small, tough scales on its hind toes that swivel like tiny paddles when making its way over loose sand, across which it can run with amazing speed or, when necessary, dive into for safety.
This is a cute little creature with a slender orange body about three inches long. As far as is known, it can live in just one spot in North America, and that is a place near Palm Springs, California, called Thousand Palms Canyon. There it lives comfortably among huge sand dunes which are also occupied by tarantulas, rattlesnakes, rabbits, quail and a wide variety of other creatures.
Rough, furrowed skin covers its body, but its stomach, throat and legs are smooth. Its flat body (flatter than most lizards) and its pointed snout, provided by the Creator, both help it to dive head-first into the loose sand for safety. With surprising speed it buries itself and completely disappears from view, either lying still down there or moving off quite a distance without being detected.
How can it breathe under the sand? Well, the Creator has taken care of that in a remarkable way. In the first place, He has given it a special nose like no other creature has. Part of it is a trap beyond which sand cannot pass, although allowing the small amount of air it requires to pass. When back on the surface it simply blows out the trapped sand.
Its eyes have been given additional protection from harm. Each eye has two overlapping lids, completely stopping even the tiniest speck of sand from getting to the delicate part of the eyeball. One of these lids acts just as yours does blinking up and down when something threatens; the other moves from side to side to do the same thing. If, as rarely happens, a speck of sand gets past this double guard, then it simply wipes it away with a fringed toenail of a hind leg.
This lizard apparently gets sufficient moisture from the stems of desert plants. If this is not enough, it can move out into the morning fog, which condenses and runs down its skin into its mouth, which it holds lower than the rest of its body for that purpose.
As the opening verse from the Psalms expresses, we can see even in a little creature like this an example of the untold number of things that speak of the greatness and wonder of God and His creation. Thinking on it, the Psalmist could say, “Teach me Thy way, O Lord.” Psalm 86:1111Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. (Psalm 86:11). That excellent desire should be in the heart and mind of each of us also.
ML-06/09/1991