Chamops segnis
Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Polyglyphanodontia
Genus: Chamops
Type Species: Chamops segnis
Described by Othneil Charles Marsh, 1892
Common Name: Hell Creek Iguana.
Synonyms:
-Alethesaurus (Gilmore, 1928)
-Lanceosaurus (Gilmore, 1928)
Current Park Population: (10; all adults; 4 male, 6 female)
Park Diet: Mustards, pesticide-free grasses, shredded greens, orange vegetables, collards, dandelions, soft fruits, hibiscus flowers, roses, cactus pads, and prickly pears. Along with multivitamins, calcium supplements, crickets, and mealworms.
Natural Diet: Scrubs, Ferns, Bushes, Buds, Fruits, and Insects, especially ants.
Lifespan: 10 years.
Habitat: Open-Canopy Forests, Floodplain Swamps, and Fern Prairies.
Native Ecosystem: Western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia. Hell Creek Formation, Judith River Formation, Polecat Bench Formation, Milk River Formation, and Laramie Formation, Southwestern Alberta, Canada, Montana, and Colorado, USA, Late Cretaceous-Early Eocene, 84.5-55 Million Years Ago, Santonian-Ypresian Stages.
Breeding Season: May-June.
Gestation Period: Four-Seven Months.
Eggs Laid: 3-8 eggs.
Hatching Time: Late July through September.
Danger Level: 1 out of 10.
Park Star Rating: 1 Star.
Summary: While most cretaceous lizards are very small, hiding amongst the foliage and avoiding detection from the dinosaurian fauna, the most common lizard at Hell Creek, Chamops segnis, reaches more than half a meter long, which puts it on the menu for many young and small carnivorous dinosaurs.
Description: These lizards have dark brown and black striped tails, Males have dark blueish bodies, red spots over their bodies and heads, while Females are grayish brown with brown spots, and a light brown nape. Hatchlings are tannish brown with black spots.
Size: Chamops grew to approximately 0.5 meters (20 inches) long, and 2 kilograms (4 pounds) in weight.
Classification: Unlike other polyglyphanodonts, Chamops had a more blunt snout. Chamops belonged to the Chamopsiid family of polyglyphanodonian lizards that lived in the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Cretaceous, although there are some possible Chamopsiid genera from South America and the Kem Kem Bone Beds in Morocco. It was originally thought Chamops and kin are related to whiptails, although it is now thought they are more closely related to iguanas.
Paleobiology: These lizards can withstand high temperatures and are out and about after other lizards have retreated into their burrows. They seek shade when their body temperature is in the low forties (celsius), and seek the protection of a burrow when their body temperature reaches the mid-forties (Celsius). They burrow extensively and if threatened will scamper into a shrub and go quickly down a burrow. Their burrows are usually dug in the sand under bushes like the creosote. They also often use burrows of small mammals and dinosaurs.
Diet: These Lizardsare primarily herbivorous, eating buds, fruits, leaves of shrubs and bushes, and ferns. They occasionally eat insects, especially ants.
Reproduction: During the breeding season, males become bright red and dark blue to attract the females. Reproduction also plays a role in where these lizards are found. It is believed that the high-temperature environment helps with the successful hatching of eggs. The eggs often hatch between temperatures of 28 and 38 degrees Celsius.
Interactions with other species: These lizards often peck insects off of large dinosaurs mostly herbivores and even courted on top of them.
Some dinosaurs occasionally feed on them including herbivores like Triceratops, Torosaurus, Leptoceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, Thescelosaurus, Ornithomimus, and Anzu.
They are on the menu for most predators both adults and young on land and water like juvenile Tyrannosaurus, Acheroraptor, Dakotaraptor, Dromaeosaurus, Pectinodon, Trierarchuncus, Quetzalcoatlus, Palaeosaniwa, Alphadon, Cimolestes, Lepisosteus occidentalis, Melvius, Didelphodon, Dinilysia, Thoracosaurus, Borealosuchus, Champsosaurus, Axestemys, Brachychampsa, Brodavis, and Lonchidion. But these lizards are quite skittish and fast and the predators have to catch them first.
Extinction: Due to their small size and generalist diet, these small lizards survived the K-PG Extinction Event and into the Early Eocene.
Danger Tip: They are quite harmless, but difficult to capture due to how quick these reptiles are.
Significant Events: On the final day, the team encounters a group of Chamops scampering around in search of food like insects and plants alongside Palaeosaniwa basking in the sun as they lounged upon a large rock, three mammals, Cimolestes, Alphadon, and Meniscoessus, scattered throughout the clearing as they fought with each other for food, and a Slither of Dinilysia coiled up on top of a large log basking in the sun. They were scooped up in bags and taken to Prehistoric Park. They now live in the Hell Creek Building.
Hell Creek Building: The Chamops live in a small pen with plants & logs for cover, a heat lamp to bathe under, and water dishes.
Conclusion: Chamops are interesting reptiles for people who love reptiles especially kids who love to chase lizards in their backyard. The Redhead and blue bodies of these lizards are an eyecatcher for visitors visiting the Hell Creek Building at Prehistoric Park.
The Field Guide might take a long time, like structuring and writing descriptions of the creatures, but also my time in college and spending time with my family. So you can suggest additional information quotes, descriptions, and natural or speculative behaviors for the prehistoric animals that I can edit and you send your suggestions either in reviews or Private Messages.
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