chuckwalla
Use Chuckwalla in a sentence
lə1865–70, Americanism; < California Spanish chacahuala < Cahuilla čáxwal
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
chuckwalla (ˈtʃʌkˌwɒlə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a lizard, Sauromalus obesus, that has an inflatable body and inhabits desert regions of the southwestern US: family Iguanidae (iguanas) | |
| [from Mexican Spanish chacahuala, from Shoshonean tcaxxwal] | |
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
chuckwalla
any of five species of stocky, slightly flattened lizards belonging to the subfamily Iguaninae (family Iguanidae), found on arid, rocky hills of southwestern North America. The common chuckwalla (S. ater), which occurs in the southwestern United States, reaches 50 cm (20 inches) in length, but some of the species inhabiting islands in the Gulf of California get much larger. All species of chuckwallas are predominantly herbivorous, eating a variety of desert plants, including leaves of the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). Because lizards cannot digest cellulose, the material in the cell walls of plants, chuckwallas have a rich gut flora of microorganisms that break down the cellulose, making the ingested plant material digestible. Chuckwallas also occasionally eat insects. Most chuckwalla species seek refuge in crevices. A combination of small spiny scales on the dorsal surface and the ability to inflate their bodies render them very difficult to remove once they have wedged themselves in
Learn more about chuckwalla with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Cite This Source
