Sulawesi Sailfin Lizard

What is a Sulawesi Sailfin Lizard?

The Sulawesi sailfin lizard (Hydrosaurus celebensis) is a fascinating lizard that looks positively prehistoric. It was first described in 1860, but was reclassified as a distinct species in 2020, native to the Sulawesi region.

It’s a semi-aquatic lizard that uses its powerful, flattened tail to propel itself through the water, find food, escape predators, or explore its aquatic environment.

Key Appearance Features

As we pointed out, the Sulawesi sailfin lizard has a distinctive appearance. In male species, the base of its tail features a high, black sail that helps it swim with speed and agility; this can also be used for territorial displays. Their tail is also flattened from side to side, giving a narrow tail that is effective at moving water while they swim.

Interestingly, a Sulawesi sailfin lizard is naturally all black, but with a varied diet, they can develop orange or yellow colouration along their bodies.

Native Habitat

Like all lizards, Sulawesi sailfin lizards are cold-blooded, which means that they rely on the sun for their survival. This is why the Sulawesi sailfin lizard thrive in the warm climate of Indonesia, where temperatures are consistently above 20°C.

Their semi-aquatic lifestyle leads them to be around water, which means that they can be found in humid lowland tropical forests, rivers, streams, and coastal mangrove swamps where both land and water are readily available for them to hunt and escape predators. This habitat also provides the perfect soft soil and humidity required for egg-laying.

Diet and Hunting Techniques

Sulawesi sailfin lizards are omnivorous animals, meaning that they are quite content with a varied diet of meat, plants and vegetables. When they have just hatched, they rely on a high-protein diet consisting mainly of insects. As they grow into adulthood, their diet balances out into a 50/50 of meat and vegetables or leafy greens.

When catching insects or fish, they rely on a lunging technique to quickly catch prey, but also to lunge from trees to bodies of water.

Sulawesi Sailfin Lizard Conversation Status

The Sulawesi sailfin lizard is heavily threatened by habitat loss in Indonesia. They rely on specific areas of Indonesia that are disappearing due to coastal erosion, destruction of mangroves and the conversion of riparian areas into agricultural land.

Without these environments, these highly adapted animals cannot survive in the wild.

They also face a threat from the illegal pet trade, which takes Sulawesi sailfin lizards out of their natural habitat to be sold to private owners.

Find us at Blue Reef Newquay

At Blue Reef Newquay, Sulawesi sailfin lizards thrive in an environment that perfectly mirrors the riverbanks of Indonesia. In the Freshwater section of our aquarium, you can learn about Sulawesi sailfin lizards by seeing them up close and asking our team if you have any questions you’d like answered.

Throughout the world, there are countless incredible creatures which live in far corners of the world, but by visiting Blue Reef Newquay, you can see these animals all under one roof. If you’d like to see the wonderful animals that we have at Blue Reef Newquay, book your tickets today.