Fastest reptile on land

The highest burst speed recorded for any reptile on land is 34.9 km/h (21.7 mph), achieved by the Costa Rican spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis). This information was derived from a series of experiments conducted by Professor Raymond Huey from the University of Washington, USA, and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, utilizing a specially constructed lizard racetrack.

The lizard racetrack incorporated a series of light beams and a computerized timing device.

As noted by Mark Carwardine of the Natural History Museum in London, UK: "As the animals dashed down the track, they broke the beams and their times were automatically fed into the computer. The system is so accurate that it is claimed to rival the ones used in the Olympics."