Basiliscus is a genus of large corytophanid lizards, commonly known as basilisks, which are endemic to southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.The genus contains four species, which are commonly known as the Jesus Christ lizard, or simply the Jesus lizard, due to their ability to run across water for significant distances before sinking. The species of lizard is omnivorous. If you're a basilisk lizard, though, then running on water might indeed be on your to-do list. The green basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons) is a reptile that is also sometimes referred to as the Jesus lizard. The green basilisk lizard, known scientifically as Basiliscus plumifrons, also goes by the names plumed basilisk and double-crested basilisk. As a kid, I decided to test their running-on-water ability. This video from BBC Earth captures phenomenal footage attesting to the nickname often bestowed upon lizards of the basilisk genus: "Jesus lizard." The Green Basilisk Lizard (also referred to as The Jesus Christ Lizard) can run as fast as 15mph (25 kph) while on water. The total length of the lizard is about 18-27 inches. lizards’ foot relative to a laser light sheet illuminating the region of analysis in the water (see DPIV). Younger Green Basilisk Lizards can run anywhere from 10 – 20 meters before sinking into the water, (further than an adult size lizard) due to their lighter body mass and weight. Of the four basilisk species, the green crested basilisk is the most brightly colored. This nickname comes from its ability to run across the surface of water for short periods of time, but you’ll sometimes hear them called green crested basilisks as well. I had a common basilisk, and having heard that they could run on water, I figured the bathtub would be the perfect spot to find out for sure. So I filled the bathtub half way with lukewarm water, went and got my basilisk and dropped him in. The Green Basilisk lizard can run five feet per second on the water. Green Basilisk Facts: The lizard can run on the water up to 5 ft for a distance of 15 ft before diving into the water. For previous Tet Zoo articles on iguanian lizards see Amazing social life of the Green iguana and ... and this inspired a water-running robot! The average lifespan of this lizard species is about 8-12 years. Basilisk lizard water-running kinematics are highly complex and are described in detail elsewhere (7). The only other mechanistic investigations on basilisk lizard water running consisted of calculating the impulses produced at two phases meant to represent a basilisk step: at the instant a model foot impacted the water surface from a vertical drop, and during model deceleration as a result of hydrodynamic drag (5, 6). To facilitate analyses, The other camera filmed an 9 10-cm area of interest in the laser light sheet. Its names come from the unique crest on its … The Green Basilisk lizard only uses its back legs to walk on the water – so it is running the same way us humans are, on two legs! These lizards can sprint on their hind legs and even run across the water's surface for several yards before diving underwater where they can remain submerged for more than 10 minutes.