# Lion lizard (*Leiocephalus carinatus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/lion-lizard  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The lion lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus) is a species in the family Leiocephalidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 30 g, reach 13 cm in length and live up to 10.8 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 30 g |
| Length | 9.11 cm – 13 cm |
| Lifespan | 10.8 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 62.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 – 8 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Brain mass | 71.7 mg |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 3 countries, and flagged as invasive in 1 of them. Introduced: Mexico, Turks & Caicos Islands, United States. Invasive: Mexico. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Leiocephalidae
- genus: Leiocephalus
- species: *Leiocephalus carinatus* Gray, 1827

Synonyms: *Holotropis microlophus*, *Leiocephalus macleayii*

## Common questions

### How big is the lion lizard?

An adult lion lizard weighs 30 g and measures 9.11 cm – 13 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### How long does the lion lizard live?

The lion lizard has a recorded lifespan of 10.8 years.

### Is the lion lizard an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the lion lizard as invasive in 1 country: Mexico. It lists it as introduced in 3 in all.

### What kind of animal is the lion lizard?

The lion lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus) belongs to the family Leiocephalidae in the order Squamata.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AnimalTraits: a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size](https://animaltraits.org/), CC0 1.0, 1.0.7. Herberstein, M.E., McLean, D.J., Lowe, E. et al. (2022) AnimalTraits: a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size. Scientific Data 9: 265. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01364-9. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6468938
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b

Cite as: Lion lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lion-lizard