The Insane Biology of: The Jesus Christ Lizard

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Credits:
Writer/Narrator: Stephanie Sammann
Writer: Justin Chua ([e-mail])
Editor: Dylan Hennessy (www.behance.net/dylanhennessy1)
Illustrator: Jacek Ambrożewski
Illustrator/Animator: Kirtan Patel (kpatart.com/illustrations)
Animator: Mike Ridolfi (www.moboxgraphics.com/)
Sound: Graham Haerther (haerther.net)
Thumbnail: Simon Buckmaster ( / forgottentowel )
Producer: Brian McManus ( / realengineering )
REFERENCES
[1] O’Shea, M. (2010). Lizards of the world. New Holland.
[2] Roach, J. (2021, May 3). How “jesus lizards” walk on water. Animals.
www.nationalgeographic.com/an...
[3] journals.plos.org/plosone/art...
[4]
Vieira, G. H., Colli, G. R., & Bao, S. N. (2005). Phylogenetic relationships of Corytophanid lizards (Iguania, Squamata, Reptilia) based on partitioned and total evidence analyses of sperm morphology, gross morphology, and DNA data. Zoologica Scripta, 34(6), 605-625. doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6409.2...
[5] Blickhan, R. (1989). The spring-mass model for running and hopping. Journal of Biomechanics,
22(11-12), 1217-1227. doi.org/10.1016/0021-9290(89)...
[6] Semroc, J. (n.d.). Cleveland Museum of Natural history. Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
www.cmnh.org/science-news/blo...
[7] Hsieh, S. T., & Lauder, G. V. (2004). Running on water: Three-dimensional force generation by basilisk lizards. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(48), 16784-16788. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0405736101
[8] journals.biologists.com/jeb/a...
[9] journals.plos.org/plosone/art...
[10] Yamada, Y., & Nakamura, T. (2018). Blade-type crawler capable of running on the surface of water as bio-inspired by a basilisk lizard. 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). doi.org/10.1109/iros.2018.859...
[11] Fill, D., Strauss, E., Dunning, C., Western, A., & Hassanalian, M. (2021). Amphibious bioinspired robots for Ocean Objects Identification. AIAA AVIATION 2021 FORUM. doi.org/10.2514/6.2021-2781
[12] Floyd, S., Adilak, S., Ramirez, S., Rogman, R., & Sitti, M. (2008). Performance of different foot designs for a water running robot. 2008 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. doi.org/10.1109/robot.2008.45...
[13] Park, H. S., Floyd, S., & Sitti, M. (2009). Dynamic Modeling and analysis of pitch motion of a basilisk lizard inspired quadruped robot running on water. 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. doi.org/10.1109/robot.2009.51...

[@thejesuschrist]

I’m glad I don’t have to go as fast to make it happen. It’s not easy running in sandals.

[@Mark-Wilson]

Jesus!

[@njpme]

Holy mollie

[@korstmahler]

It would really ruin your image to break an ankle in the middle of all that.

[@user-tg1pu5mo2r]

Finally! We've been waiting bro!

[@Silver_kid]

Jesus Christ!!!

[@larredderral6177]

Imagine actual Jesus walking in the surface of water rotating his leg like that

[@bikesgoodgasbad]

#1 believer right here, my kind of miracle

[@leongliyang6946]

Jesus must be running to saved one of his follower that drowning without faith 😂😂😂

[@Phoenix.Sparkles]

Can't believe he skipped leg day when they hung him on the cross, gotta get his priorities straight

[@daarom3472]

​@@Phoenix.SparklesMaria Magdalena didnt skip his 11th leg though!

[@superdupergrover9857]

One more thing. Think about how the apostles would have written that down.

[@whiplashfatigue1430]

Reminds me of the old pilot’s saying: “Helicopters don’t fly, they beat the air into submission.”

[@luisfernando5998]

Can I beat Uranus into submission?

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

Fun fact: Jamie Hyneman once proved that he can motorcycle on water at least for a short time and distance until, due to lack of thrust, the motorbike loses too much speed and sinks.

[@krzysztofczarnecki8238]

In Top Gear they successfully drove a smowmobile and a dune buggy across a lake. This makes me wonder just how necessary the forward movement is, and whether you could actually slow down and stop by lowering another set of rapidly rotating wheels into the water, but rotating backwards. Or by transitioning from powered waterwalking to buoyancy and back, by spinning the active element out of the water and then gradually lowering it in to start moving.

[@denifnaf5874]

To learn more google hyneman

[@mmllrjr]

Lizard: My name is Lizard, and I can walk on water! Surprised friend: Jesus Christ, Lizard!

[@timseguine2]

That's like the joke about the drunk who tries to convince his friends he is Jesus, so he gets them to come with him to the local bar. As soon as he walks in the bartender says, "Jesus Christ! You're here again!?"

[@joesaiditstrue]

This woman does the best wildlife narration on youtube. Her video on the inland taipan was fascinating

[@pinkace]

I was born and raised in Panama and I saw these lil guys everywhere! the sound they make when they splash on the water is as unique as everything else. Sounds like very quick clapping by the world's tiniest hands haha

[@suekim1147]

That is so cool, I hope I can see these lizards in the flesh some day!

[@robertfaler1947]

We also have animals that can give virgin births. Now we just need to find one that can turn water to wine and we are all set.

[@jeffruebens8355]

We already found a living thing to turn water into wine, yeast. Penicillin from mold heals some of the sick, also vaccines.

[@user-su8wo4cc4u]

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is close

[@MagorzataDuszak]

Well, one could argue yeast is a sort of "creature"..

[@Mark-Wilson]

Let's then combine them into one creature.

[@krzysztofczarnecki8238]

@@Mark-Wilson just give the lizard the auto-brewery syndrome. But you won't like where the alcohol would come out from.

[@terramater]

They're sooo cool! Some crabs also have this "superpower." Our crew found them on the coast of Brazil, where wild waves and cunning predators mean serious survival skills are in order. The Sally Lightfoot crabs adapted to breathe on land and escape eels and octopuses by literally walking on water.

[@realscience]

That's amazing! I never heard of this. Looks like a few animals have this amazing ability!

[@E-K-6]

Ich sah eine Doku über die Krabben, die von Oktopoden gejagt werden. Sie fliehen von Stein zu Stein und rennen über das Wasser. Cool.

[@angeloaquino6766]

Best title ever. Peter would've never believed it.

[@Notmetofo]

Lmfao

[@stevec7923]

And Thomas would have doubted it

[@Ashley-wf7qi]

fun fact, they're called the "jesus christ" lizard because the first person to discover them said "jesus christ" upon seeing this behavior

[@iodicacid2268]

Babe wake up, another "The Insane Biology of" video just dropped.

[@BlessingsMate]

Wake up! I hope you'll see the insane biology is not from evolution! kzbin.infoCFYswvGoaPU?si=D4ZyJd3kYTeDAJr2

[@AifDaimon]

love the ATLA reference: "as they are air benders"

[@AaronALAI]

I still can't get over the quality and research these videos have...wow what a gem of a channel!!

[@sforza209]

Too bad there wasn’t a clip of the lizard running across the water where we could hear how it sounds. I keep thinking it would sound like a rock being skipped across water. Lol

[@eRic-hr3yl]

PLAP PLAP PLAP

[@coreybirch2472]

Excellent work as always. (Would’ve appreciated higher resolution footage for this one, though)

[@opossumsospreys5251]

Instantly clicked on the vid lol

[@leongliyang6946]

Because is Holy

[@v1ad836]

Samee

[@zakirehman9023]

same lol. there was something about using the word of jesus for a lizard 😂

[@daarom3472]

I clicked after a little hesitation, pondering whether I should go for it or not.

[@Will-jd6vb]

Sames

[@thegoldenmako7353]

Best series on KZbin!! You should do a video on Cone snails next!!

[@HISTORYSQUARE]

Jesus christ lizzard? So if a lizzard rides a raft it is noah lizzard. But wait till you guys meet the moses lizard.

[@offthetopbbq]

I noah lizzard named God

[@Davidesonar449]

i adore these series o youtube, they're my favoriete. thank you guys so much

[@_ayush_oswal]

Soo invested in the insane biology series, love it❤

[@joeshmoe8345]

Thanks a bunch for sharing this with us Big Dog.

[@MrHugemoth]

I used to have one as a pet. They don't make good pets because they're very skittish and very fast.

[@sforza209]

That’s terrible. I bet you let it free outside cause you couldn’t deal with it.

[@realdreamerschangetheworld7470]

Interesting info

[@TDash-pn4rw]

It’s not just their personalities. ITS THEIR CARE! They need a huge enclosure, big pool for them to soak in, a lots of climbing branches to climb, live plants. I have one and he was 5 months old on 2023 February and how he’s 18 months old on March 2024. Dam he’s big, 2ft long also. Full grown size is 3ft so he’s still growing.

[@rkinggamez7718]

​@@TDash-pn4rw3 fucking feet? Geez, how big's that thing

[@Hr2393]

0:52 Clearly a micro spinosaurus

[@krishnasrivatsa4204]

Clearly.

[@kimarisvidarxx66]

Imagine if the Spinosaurus itself can do just that

[@TDash-pn4rw]

That’s what I thought! Which is why I name mines “Spino”. But the dinosaur that scientist said they look like is a parasaurolophus. I get it, big legs, small arms, crest on head. But still look more of a spinosaurus to me.

[@aubreythegoatofficial9209]

Just found out about this channel this week and man a g hooked 😂

[@Aquamayne100]

Love this channel!

[@peterkephart7955]

This is a brilliant channel.

[@pepefrogic3034]

As always, excdllent content!

[@istvansipos9940]

as a gamer, I cannot approve this very nerfed basilisk

[@playingmantis6570]

from ARK?

[@istvansipos9940]

@@playingmantis6570 Heroes of Might and Magic 3

[@bloodofjhezos]

i saw “The Jesus Christ Lizard” and thought this lil guy resurrects every 3 days 😭😭😭

[@ToneyDaleWanamaker]

Channel rocks, I love science Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!!

[@feliperios3623]

Love your content ❤

[@grazedrightbeef8921]

Love it!! Thanks

[@irenecohen6140]

Loveeee, can there be an insane biology of the octopus next 😁

[@creepymom]

Yesss, my favorite 🖤

[@andrewstrongman305]

I found the continual use of "walk/walking on water" extremely irritating. The basilisk can hardly even be said to run on water, as it relies on a rapidly cycling paddling motion to propel itself.

[@G63_XL]

I find your videos interesting and informative. Much appreciation to the work you are doing. ❤️ I have a little request though. Please do a video on the bowhead whale. There is not enough information about it and the available information is not explained with your amount of detail and precision. Thanks in advance.

[@123FireSnake]

9:50 sooo in the realm of possibility with bionics, gotcha, can't wait for the 200 meter over water dash at the Olympics in 50 years

[@philipcarr5680]

Followed instructions perfectly but still sank

[@TheTELproductions]

must have skipped leg day

[@user-wl3or2mo3b]

Very good information

[@misteriguana2748]

We have the brown basilisk here in florida. Had 13 of them in the yard earlier this year. Very easy to catch at night just like the veiled chameleons are. But they are only around for a few months then they disapear. And come back the.following year.

[@mythicmars4848]

I remember back when I did a project in science class on these little guys in like elementary, always thought they were the coolest

[@GeorgeSchumpf]

Our best intelligent design engineering doesn't even begin to hold a flickering candle to the intelligent design engineering in nature

[@jeremylawrence6041]

No intelligent design in nature. Just time, pressure and adaptation

[@robinhodgkinson]

Nature works on the basis of random prototyping that all fail, until one doesn’t! Evolution. Works well when you’ve got a few billion years to iron out the wrinkles.

[@GeorgeSchumpf]

@jeremylawrence6041 You wrote there is no ID in nature, only pressure and adaptation. . You are a dreamer, deluded dreamer. Take any body system, its full of design. The transition process from placenta supported fetus to self-sufficient infant is an example of THOUGHTFUL design. The immune system is so complex, we still don't really know how it works. DNA replication and repair is full of chicken and egg impossibilities. How on earth does dumb evolution time and pressure create enzymes that "kmow" how to find errors and trigger a cascade of proteins to cooperate with each other to one to clip, another to remove, another yo replace, and yet another protein to repair? Do you have the slightest idea how mitosis works? How does that complex system of on and off switches arise with no overall purpose and plan? What causes a cell to even want to divide? Pressure? Time? Don't be silly. It's easy to make your wild claim...impossible to prove.

[@jollyjokress3852]

Nature is perfection since it evolved over hundreds of millions of yrs.

[@cedriceric9730]

Yeah the designer has to be infinitely intelligent

[@CMZneu]

There are other lizards than can also run on water to a lesser extent, especially tiny ones, i have personally seen small geckos run strait across a pool.

[@thegunslinger1363]

Could you do this sort of video on the Amur Tiger?

[@Khajar]

Suggestion for the next animal: cockroaches! As much as we all hate those little buggers, we have to admit: they're kind of amazing, biologically speaking.

[@realscience]

This is true! Do you think people would watch a video on it?

[@Khajar]

@@realscience absolutely! There are so many curiosities about them! Like: will they really survive a nuclear apocalypse? Why are they so hard to kill? Why do they fly directly at us? Do they know we're scared of them?! Also, a lot of people don't really know their life cycle, preferred diet and habits. This is all interesting stuff to know, even if we hate them! "Know your enemy" XD

[@YochevedDesigns]

This lizard might not kill you with a look, but that side eye is judging the hell out of you. 😮

[@dudenukem1594]

i love your content

[@fatalinstinct4334]

Hey I’ve been following your channel for some years now and I would like for you to uncover one of my favorite animals the crocodile or any type of crocodilian basically showing off their incredible ability to adapt and you know the other basics and also uncover roaches I know it’s crazy but if you don’t know already roaches are actually pretty interesting….just a thought have a great day I enjoy your videos a lot:)

[@MongoosePreservationSociety]

Immediately watched this

[@miitvajir8247]

Rango adapted amazingly to its hostile environment

[@GlennSilva-gp2ly]

your voice will always be my Relaxing Anthem ☺️

[@paigemalloy4276]

Basilisk! Love these little guys!

[@shesh32]

Please do a video on the flying lizard, Draco Dussumieri.

[@arnold_finch]

"They generally lay motionless"..... [SHAKES HEAD]🤣

[@user-ew7ey2xu6t]

May you make a video about the insane biology of giraffe please🙏? I am a really big fan of the nature and the animals, and I am always watching youtube channels like your.

[@Olaf_Schwandt]

you forgot to mention the importance of the surface tension of the water next to the movement of the “jesus lizards”

[@alanmv4]

This reminds me of the first time I watched the Wild Kratts episode on basilisks 😊

[@isabel.bolivia]

Absolutely beautiful creature! In South America, you say? I am in South America!! What a blessing, now I only need to travel to admire this beauty!

[@thomasmuller546]

beautiful

[@MarBenGay-xh5ds]

2:30 I live in Southeast Asia and we have a water running lizard here too.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

It's weird to think about that they are basically showing us a different form of what it takes us to figure out moving from land to air. They move on top of water. That place between 2 states of matter. Air, water, land. All different densities with different types of air resistance, drag, lift, fluid dynamics, resistance, etc. Etc. It's really interesting to think we have these meeting points between 2 layers of matter. (Fresh water meets salt water/air meets land/ different layers of air in our atmosphere and where it meets space/ then there's a ton of different types of land that changes a ton of factors in the movement across that land)

[@av1421]

It WALKED on water, right in front of me in La Fortuna! It was quite amazing

[@Jazzzon777]

In the desert there are lizards that move the same way on the loose sand. They are neat to watch.

[@umjackd]

So I was rewatching the original Avatar: The Last Airbender, and they use these very lizards as mounts in one episode. As always, I'm pretty impressed by the research those animators did.

[@LanceofLonginous]

Neat as hell yo

[@MisterBrowse]

in Philippines we called it as "ibid" the most hilarious lizard you can ever find in the country.

[@RCJoo]

Around my hometown in the isthmus of Oaxaca, Mexico. We call them "Pasa rios", literally "River crossers"

[@onsokumaru4663]

I don't think it's walking as you put it, it's more like running on water.

[@KT-M]

Grebes can also run on water without using wings when courting

[@jarrodbarker5050]

Imagine someone with no legs watching this video. All the cruel mockery. 😢

[@100mcuber4]

"Hey jesus what are you doing? Youre cycling on the water"

[@Object_Fan2763]

You should do a video on flying fish!

[@NormanInAustralia]

Thanks!

[@kmcd3020]

Did the person who discovered it just say 'jesus christ' look at this thing 😂

[@realscience]

Yeah I think so lol

[@Davethreshold]

With that name, it must be a Superstar!

[@michal.mateja]

Love this Little fellow

[@jollyjokress3852]

Freaking beautiful they are!

[@BurningmonkeyGTR]

The fun thing about water is that if you hit it hard enough it's functionally solid

[@cesarparra6025]

I need an animation of Jesus running like that like that lizard

[@wilson5377]

This was featured on a documentary show some time ago... "An Idiot Abroad -China". But mostly they were found skewered & barbecued.🥴 Think there were scorpions as well.🤔

[@jeffruebens8355]

We can easily fly with manual powered wings on moons in the Solar system, I think especially for one of the moons of Saturn with a thicker atmosphere. Lots of water there too to walk on.

[@oldogre5999]

It's not a water "strider" it's a "Water Skipper!" Because of the way they move! A stride is how you walk down the sidewalk you take strides or continuous steps! These insects don't do that they SKIP across the water by "flexing" their legs and springing themselves across the surface of the water.

[@korstmahler]

I tried to explain this lizard to my class years and years ago. Hubris not being something I understood at the time I didn't get why the teacher would be so quick to demean and mock me for talking about something I'd read in a book from that same school's library. A year later I was explaining that 'Sarcophagus' was a real word, and had to bring a dictionary in to back myself up. The point is, I went to a public school. Don't do that.

[@CMZneu]

You know reasonably powerful remote controlled cars can cross a good stretch of water easily if they are going fast enough.

[@grillmeisterkush6396]

Oh god Azula is coming. She and her girls look pissed!!

[@CasualClinkz]

*Humans finally get back to the moon* Nasa: 'get the pool we will be jesus' Astronaut: '?'

[@UncleRJ]

I remember when Mythbusters did an episode regarding this little bugger and they strapped a poor woman with outlandish gimmicks in hopes to run on water. They did her dirty lmao.

[@isabel.bolivia]

Loooool😂

[@kurtkennedy333]

Does anybody else remember the educational flash game where you had to build one of these lizards and change the foot size etc to get it to run across the water?

[@marvinkentvillamor1570]

@Realscience, I believe what you meant about "buoyancy" is "surface tension of the liquid" 5:35 .

[@vikasga8719]

Hi. Sorry to intervene, but she probably meant buoyancy in the sense that the insect's feet provide a wide area of contact reducing the chance of breaking surface tension and sinking. Surface tension probably isn't suitable in the context of the sentence as she said "the buoyancy created by these legs ..." where replacing 'buoyancy' with surface tension would suggest the insect can create surface tension which is not the case. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience caused by my comment. Please enlighten me if I am wrong.

[@evandempster6460]

Can you do an "insane biology of beavers" video?

[@RubyisCute]

This animal can’t walk on water, but it can sprint on water

[@odrikronnin-gamer6579]

i thought they needed a straight line trajectory, but mf just hoops onto the pond then runs over the surface screen, what a lizard!!!!!

[@IloveGorgeousGeorge]

I also thought they needed a running start, but he just leaps the human equivalent of like 20 feet into the water and literally breaks into a dead sprint lol

[@davidbelen7199]

Didn't Chris Angel also walked on water. That lil mindfreak magician 😂

[@mikeoxmall69420]

I hear cartoon sound effects when this lizard runs on water🤣

[@MegaEmmanuel09]

4:10 Those wounds, sheesh

[@kaiseraugustus1393]

The real question is, how did he evolve this feature over millions of years, by drowning 😂 the ignorance of selection and mutation

[@e.solano3963]

Anyone ever tarp run across a pool? Thats what this reminds me of 🤯

[@sucrosesenpai1110]

I saw this lizard when I was a child. Fr thought I was hallucinating

[@JG-zs8tr]

Video request: tuatara

[@lightpathhomes]

That is with the help of the tail too