A prehistoric relic of an animal dubbed as the "Jesus lizard" was recently discovered in Wyoming indicating that animals found only in the tropics may have once lived in the now Cowboy State.

In a journal published July 1 in PLOS ONE, paleontologist Jack Conrad from the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine described the reptile which reportedly can walk in waters.

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Classified as a casquehead lizard, Babibasiliscus alxi - the reptile's scientific name - is said to be probably a representative of the earliest evident members of the Jesus lizard group Corytophanidae which also includes chameleons and iguanas.

The two-foot long specimen has a ridge of bone on the skull giving it an angry look at the same time providing shades to its eyes. Its teeth are designed with three points making it convenient to snack on plants, insects, fish, snakes and other lizards. The lizard's fairly large cheekbone also suggests that it may have munched on larger preys as well, Washington Post has learned.

Conrad suggested that about 50 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch, B. alxi probably once grazed the lush and damp grounds of Wyoming, during which time the global climate was mainly in "greenhouse" condition. It is also believed that Wyoming's Bridger Basin deserts were critically warmer (about an average of 8 degrees Celsius) than they are today, promoting a tropical rainforest environment with a diverse collection of early primates, birds and reptile during those time, according to Forbes.

Furthermore, Conrad indicated that the creature was most likely active in the day spending a lot of time in trees.

Jesus lizards run very fast on buoyant webbed feet that they skip across waters giving them the impression of walking in waters.

"They are so fast. You can't approach them. You hear them in the water when they start splashing across. They run on their hind legs," Conrad said of the lizard.

Modern-day relatives of the B. alxi live in locations as far as central Mexico to northern Colombia with an invasive group thriving in Florida. Members of different plants, animals and other living organisms presently confined to tropical and subtropical areas are mostly found in fossil records at mid-to-high latitudes from warm eras in Earth history, Eureka Alert! reported.

"Given our current period of global climate fluctuation, looking to the fossil record offers an important opportunity to observe what is possible and may give us an idea of what to expect from our dynamic Earth," Conrad reportedly said.

TagsJesus lizard, Fossil, Science