As much as I begged he refused to flare up the frill of skin at his neck. I know the frill flares up when they are frightened, but I know many lizards will also climb the nearest tree (or high thing) when alarmed, and since that was me I didn't really want to alarm him. They can run fast two and will often run along on just their hind legs.
This photo is special as it reminds me that I made some good friends in Darwin who were forever on the look out for a good photo op for me. On this occasion (when driving along) my friend said "do you have your camera handy? Get it out" and he did a U-turn and pulled over right next to this guy.
The frill-necked lizard gets his name from the large ruff of skin which usually lies folded back against its head and neck, it is supported by long spines of cartilage which are connected to the jaw bones.
When the lizard is frightened, it opens its mouth, exposing a yellow or pink lining and the frill flares out.
Such cool creatures, there are some people breeding these in the US. The babies are kind of cute but the adults would be more than a handful to deal with. Nice group photo effort.
