Lizard Filmed Breathing Underwater with 'Secret Scuba System' for the First Time — Watch

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Robin Cox/National Geographic for Disney+

Tom Cruise does his own stunts, and so does this lizard.

While filming for the National Geographic seriesSuper/Natural, the new show’s crew captured a life-saving lizard behavior on film for the first time.

In the video below, a hungry motmot bird spies a lizard sitting out in the open ready to be snatched. The lizard runs from the bird until reaching a body of water. Cumberbatch, 46, notes in the clip that it seems “there is nowhere left to run” for the reptile — but he’s wrong.

The lizard dives into the water and sinks to the bottom to rest on the rock while the motmot bird watches. The colorful flier tries to wait out the lizard, but the bird is no match for the lizard’s “unbelievable escape strategy, so recently discovered it’s never been filmed before now.”

According to Cumberbatch’s narration, while the lizard is submerged in the water, tiny bubbles trapped between the reptile’s scales join up and drift towards the lizard’s head. This collection of bubbles acts as a “secret scuba system” for the lizard, allowing the creature to breathe underwater and stay submerged for more than 18 minutes.

In the clip, this newly documented trick saves the lizard’s life because, after waiting for the lizard to reappear for several minutes, the motmot bird decides to move on without a meal.

source: people.com