Male Tenerife lizard (Western Canaries lizard) (Gallotia galloti) sun basking on volcanic rock, raising a back foot to cool it, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Europe

An adult desert collared lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores), basking in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States of America, North America

Adult spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura conspicuosa), basking in the sun, Isla San Esteban, Baja California, Mexico, North America

Adult spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura conspicuosa), basking in the sun, Isla San Esteban, Baja California, Mexico, North America

An adult desert collared lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores), basking in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States of America, North America

An adult desert collared lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores), basking in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States of America, North America

Galapagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) basking in Urbina Bay, Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ecuador, South America

Group of American alligators cosying up basking by a swamp and chilling out in the Florida Everglades, USA

American alligator with mouth open showing its teeth basking by Turner River by Tamiami Trial, the Florida Everglades, USA

Juvenile American alligator basking at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Reserve, Captiva Island, Florida, USA

A sagebrush lizard, Sceloporus graciosu basking on a granite rock in Yosemite, California, USA.

Adult Swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) in flight over basking marine iguanas on Espanola Island in the Galapagos Island Archipelago, Ecuador

Adder, Vipera berus, sunning on rock, Scotland, UK

An Eastern water dragon lizard basking near Manly Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Pacific

The endemic marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) basking in the sun in the Galapagos Island Group, Ecuador

Brightly coloured Rock Agama lizard basking on a rock by a Tsavo National Park game near Voi in Southern Kenya

Western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata) male basking in the sun in the brush. Bas-Rhin, Collectivite europeenne d'Alsace, Grand Est, France, Europe

Western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata) male basking in the sun in the brush. Bas-Rhin, Collectivite europeenne d'Alsace, Grand Est, France, Europe

Young alligator hatchling (Alligator mississippiensis) suns on a sunken log in the Okefenokee Swamp. Mothers aggressively guard the nests when until the juveniles begin hunting on their own. American alligators were once threatened from hunting but with protections have recovered although hatchlings are vulnerable to predators, Georgia, United States of America

Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus Cristatus) Sunbathing On Black Volcanic Rocks, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Two Marine Iguanas (Amblyrhynchus Cristatus) Sunbathing On Volcanic Rock, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Colourful male Kenyan Rock Agama (Agama lionotis) basking on rock at KIA Lodge near Kilimanjaro International Airport, Arusha, Tanzania

Iguana basking in sunlight

Lizard basking on rock

A Nile crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus, basking near the Chobe River. Chobe River, Chobe National Park, Kasane, Botswana.