Silver Ounce 2020 Wildlife Up Close - Frilled Neck Lizard, Coin from Niue - detailed information

Niue, a sovereign state in free association with New Zealand, uses two official legal tender currencies. The New Zealand Dollar is the circulation currency for daily transactions, while the government also authorises legal tender coins in the Niue Dollar currency for collector's purposes.

A number of mints issue a large variety of commemorative, bullion and collector coins under the authority of Niue. These coins are dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to Niue itself. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes - typically, one ounce of silver (abbreviated as 1 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum). Many of these feature various animals.

The Frilled Neck Lizard coin is the third design in the Wildlife Up Close series of proof coins.

The frilled necked lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii), also known as the frilled lizard, frill-neck lizard and frilled dragon, is so called because of the large ruff of skin which usually lies folded back against its head and neck. The neck frill is supported by long spines of cartilage which are connected to the jaw bones. When the lizard is frightened, it gapes its mouth showing a bright pink or yellow lining, and the frill flares out, displaying bright orange and red scales. This display is usually used to discourage predators, as well as in courtship. The lizard is a member of the agamid family which means it a relatively large lizard, growing up to 91 cm. Incredibly, the frill neck lizard is also capable of bipedal locomotion, running on its hind legs!

The frill-necked lizard does not have one standard color. Rather, it is characterized by a body that is darker than its frill. There is only one recorded species of the frill-necked lizard; however, the immense variations of color among the species has lead some scientists to hypothesize more than one species.

Like many lizards, frill-necked lizards are largely insectivorous, feeding on cicadas, beetles, and termites. They especially favor butterflies and moths, even more so their larvae. Though insects are their primary source of food, they also consume spiders, other lizards, and small mammals. Like most members of the agamids (dragons), frill-necked lizards employ an ambush method of hunting, lying in wait for their prey. When the lizards eat, they eat in abundance. These binge periods usually occur during the wet season, when the lizards will ingest hundreds to thousands of alates (ants or termites) in a single meal.