REPTILES: Completely Inside#comments

REPTILES: Completely Inside#comments

The Infamous Cobra

Although several other species are more deadly, the cobra has the worst reputation of any venomous snake. This is partly because of its large size and fearsome appearance, but mainly because it comes in constant contact with people crowded Asiatic countries where few have shoes. As a result, it takes about 10, 000 lives a year in India alone.

Completely Inside

The snake’s mouth, the egg begins to pass down its elastic throat, where it will come in contact with the sharp internal spines, which will break it open. Being roughly spherical, an egg is remarkably resistant to crushing, but once pierced by the spines it will break into small fragments very quickly as it is subjected to muscle spasms of the snakes neck.

With Jaws at Maximum Gape

The snake manages to get its mouth around the egg. The pleated lining inside the mouth and the flexible tissues between the jawbones are stretched as far as they will go. The tiny, backward – pointing teeth work their way across the egg’s huge smooth dome, and the fountains of the snake’ s saliva flow freely so that the egg will slide in smooth.

An Apparently Impossible Task

Confronts the African egg eater as it opens its mouth to swallow a mountainous – looking egg with a diameter well over twice the width of its own body.

A Super Swallower

A sure way around the problem of subduing live flesh is to catch it young enough. The two – foot African snake Dasypellis scaber, shown here, has carried this solution to the ultimate point of eating nothing but birds’eggs, and has become marvelously specialized for this task. Its teeth have dwindled to nubbinds, which are useful only for gripping a smooth egg. Its jaws are loosely connected to its skull by two swiveling bones, which can be dropped down to give Dasypeltis the stretchiest mouth of any snake. In its throat are sharp projuctions sticking down from the backbone and used to rip open eggshells.

The Devices of Snakes for Subduing Food

Though limbless, sluggish and small – brained, the snake is one of the most perfectly efficient predators in the animal world. Elastic jaw joints let it accommodate any prey of reasonable size. A slim body lets it prowl or lie in ambush inconspicuously. A slow metabolism enables it to wait weeks for the right meal. If food walks by that might put up a dangerous fight, a snake can usually afford to ignore it.

With A Good Grip

On the head of an anole lizard, this vine snake will settle itself and slowly swallow it. Vince snakes are long and slender; they lurk in foliage and pounce on lizards creeping among the leaves.

Squeezing Steadily

A pine snake kills a white rat. Constrictors do not crush their victims, as many people have long thought; their coils make it harder and harder for the prey to breathe until it finally suffocates.

The Indian Cobra

Confronted by danger, the cobra flattens the skin of its neck into a wide hood, which makes it look bigger than it is. It does this by spreading long, movable ribs.

The Coral Snake

The red, yellow and black bands of the venomous coral snake act as a warning flag to other animals. Some harmless species imitate its stripes to bluff their enemies.

The Rattlesnake

To warn away enemies, the rattlesnake shakes the hollow segments that from the rattle at the end of its tail. Each time it sheds its skin, it adds one new section.

Nyctosaurus

A flying reptile, had greatly elongated fourth – finger bones to support its seven –foot – wide membranous wings, and was better adapted to soaring than flapping flight. Although most of its bones were hollow and birdlike, Nyclosaurus was neither a bird nor a bird ancestor. In fact, it was competition that probably pushed Nyctosaurus and other flying reptiles to their long glide to extinction during the Cretaceous, some 70 million years ago.

Walrus

The eight – foot – long Placodus was also a Triassic reptile. Its stoutish body, short neck and tail and paddle like limbs resembled those of the modern walrus, a mammal. Like the walrus, it was a marine animal that dove down to the bottom in search of shellfish, which it crushed with its strong jaws and teeth. Although it lacked the canine tusks of the walrus, its front teeth were used as efficient nippers.

Gavial

There is an astonishingly close resemblance between the Triassic phytosaur, which became extinct 200 million years ago, and the gavial, a kind of crocodile found in Asia today. Both lived in swamps and on muddy riverbanks. Both lived in swamps and on muddy riverbanks. Both were ferocious carnivores with long – toothed jaws for snatching fishes. But the phytosaur’s nostrils were just in front of its eyes, while the gavials are at the end of its snout.

Ostrich

Many of the reptiles that appeared during the heyday of the dinosaurs were well adapted to ways of life that later were taken over by modern reptiles, mammals and birds. Since their habits were similar it is not surprising that their shapes were too. The eight – foot – tall ostrich dinosaur, for example, was an omnivorous browser of open plains. Like the modern ostrich, it had a toothless beak and powerful legs.

Archaeopteryx

The crow – sized Archaeopteryx, an ancient bird that lived toward the end of the era of flying reptiles, possessed many characteristics of the reptiles from which it sprang. Like the birds, Archaeopteryx was feathered and had strong hind limbs with claws adapted for perching. But it had a toothed, reptilian beak, claws on its forelimbs and a reptilian tail. Fossil remains indicate that the animal had a weak jaw and small teeth and, unlike the pterosaurs, probably fed on plants, insects and grubs.

Pterosaur

Although no reptiles can fly today, some did in the past. This long – tailed Rhamphorhynchus was one of these reptiles, which took to the air some 180 million years ago. A big – jawed, toothy creature, it had an extremely elongated finger on each forelimb, providing a frame for its featherless wing. The other clawed fingers protruded for climbing. The tail ended in a rudder, aiding stability in flight. It had weak legs, probably walked little and cruised low over the water in search of its prey.

A Rare, Two – Legged Lizard

The ajolote, the two – legged worm lizard of Mexico’s Baja California, is one of the Western Hemisphere’s rarest reptiles. Until recently, when 11 wriggling specimens were presented to the San Diego Zoo, little more was known about it than that it lived underground in burrows and came out only at night. Its stout, clawed feet suggested that it might be able to crawl overland.

A Legless Lizard

From Florida so resembles an earthworm in both form and locomotion that it is often mistaken for one. Blind and without ear openings, it tunnels through damp soil, where it feeds on ants and termites. When exposed under a log, the foot – long worm lizard may slide back into the burrow tail first or use the callused, blunt end of its tail to plug the opening.

Moloch Horridus

Named after an ancient god propitiated by child sacrifice, is covered with stubby spines and has two knobs over its eyes, which increase the size of its head. But despite its fearsome name, this Australian lizard is only eight inches long, moves slowly and deliberately, and subsists on a diet of ants, lapping up from 1, 000 to 1, 500 at a single meal.

The Dexterous Lizards

There are about 3, 000 species and subspecies of lizards, and though they differ in many ways, they have one habit in common – all shed their skins. Adults molt once every month or so, during the months in which they are active, and unlike snakes, most do not shuffle off their epidermis in one piece, but in patches or even a scale at a time. The banded gecko below rips off its old skin with its mouth and swallows the strips. And to peel its feet, it yanks at each digit as though removing a tight glove.

The Hulking Crocodilians

The crocodilians – the heavily armored crocodiles, alligators and gavials – are the largest of the modern reptiles and the last surviving reptilian descendants of the stock that also produced the dinosaurs. Although somewhat clumsy out of water, they are superbly equipped for living in it. They are strong swimmers, and experts at drifting along on the surface, submerged except for their bulging eyes and nostrils, their long flat jaws not even making a ripple in the water as they stalk turtles, swimming birds and fishes. The larger crocodiles can sometimes get close enough to animals on shore to sweep them – and humans – into deep water with their tails. Crocodilians have valves in their mouths lack lips and thus do not shut completely; two palatal flaps cover gullet and windpipe during dives.

The Venerable Reptiles

Once the dominant form of life on earth, the reptiles are now vastly reduced in numbers and variety. They persist today in three main groups – turtles, the lizards and snakes, and the crocodilians plus one almost extinct form, the little – known tuatara. Many are relatively unchanged from the age when dinosaurs rumbled over the land, and offer fascinating hints as to what life was like then.

A Giant Scavenger

The Komodo lizard, a monitor named for the East Indian Island on which it lives, is the world’s largest lizard. An aggressive carnivore, it usually scavenges for carrion. But it can run down such small animals as the wild pig at left and, like a snake, swallow them whole. It also preys on larger animals up to the size of young deer, from which it tears huge chunks.

The Boa Constrictor

One of the most beautiful snakes has a ski pattern harmonizing with shadowy jungle backgrounds. Dark stipes disrupts the head outline, and one disguises the eye.

The Green Tree Snake

Colored to blend with Central America’s foliage, reaches a length of four feet, but is so slender it can slither along branches without weighing them down.

The Eyelash Viper

A poisonous snake of Central America can wind its prehensile tail several times around a branch and grab at birds with its open mouth while dangling in the air.

The Agile Snakes

All 2, 700 kinds of snakes tend to look alike – long, squirmy and legless. But despite this superficial resemblance, they show just as much variability of form as their ancestors the lizards do. They range in size from the five inches of a burrowing snake no thicker than a goose quill to the 30 feet of an Asian python over 300 pounds in weight. And with these variations go others – environmental adaptations such as the prehensile tails of many of the arboreal snakes, or skin colors and patterns that match or blend with the surroundings. The amazing thing about snakes is that being legless has not proven a hindrance to locomotion, but an enhancement, making them extremely agile. Some snakes can even outdistance a man in brush or over rough ground.

The Spineless Soft – Shelled Turtle

Of the central and Southwestern U.S. can hide in the beds of rivers, streams and ponds by shuffling its leathery – skinned shell into sand or silt.

Largest Crocodilian

The largest reptile in the world is the estuarine or crocodile (Crocodylus porosus),
Which rangers throughout the tropical regions of Asia and the Pacific. The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sancturary in Orissa State, India, houses four protected estuarine crocodiles measuring more than 6 m (19 ft 8 in) in length, the largest being over 7 m (23 ft) long. There are several unauthenticated reports of specimens up to 10 m (33 ft) in length. Adult males typically measure 4.2 – 4.8 m (14 – 16 ft) in length and scale about 408 – 520 kg (900 – 1, 150 lb).

Most Venomous Land Snake

The most venomous land snake in the world is the inland taipan or small – scaled (or fierce) snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), which measures up to 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) and is found mainly in the Diamantina River and Cooper Creek drainage basins in Queensland and western New South Wales, Australia. In a single strike, a taipan can inject 60 mg (0.002 oz) of venom, sufficient to quickly paralyze a small marsupial but also more than enough to kill several human adults. The average venom yield after milking is 44 mg (0.00155 oz), enough to kill 250, 000 mice. Fortunately this species only lives I the arid deserts of central eastern Australia and no human death has been reported from its bite.

Longest Venomous Snake

The longest venomous snake is the king cobra (Ophiophagus Hannah), also called the hamadryad, which measures 3.65 – 4.5 m (12 – 15 ft) in length and is found in Southeast Asia and India. The head of the king cobra is as big as a man’s hand and it can stand tall enough to look an adult human, being in the eye. Its venom can stun the nervous system and cause asphyxiation while other toxins start digesting the paralysed victim. The venom in a single bite from a king cobra is enough to kill and elephant or 20 people.

Smallest Chelonian

The smallest helonian is the speckled cape tortoise or speckled padloper (Homopus signatus), which has a shell length of between 6 and 9.6 cm (2.3 and 3.7 in). The smallest marine turtle in the world is the Atlantic ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), which has a shell length of 50 – 70 cm (20 – 28 in) and a maximum weight of 80 kg (176 lb).

Heaviest Snake

The heaviest snake is the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) of tropical South America and Trinidad. The normal length is 5.5 – 6.1 m (18 – 20 ft). A female shot in Brazil c. 1960 was 8.45 m (27 ft 9 in) long with a girth of 1.11 m (44 in), and was estimated to have weighed 227 kg (500 lb).

Longest Fangs

The longest fangs of any snake are those of the highly venomous Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) of tropical Africa. In a specimen 1.83 m (6 ft) long, the fangs measured 50 mm (2 in). The Gaboon viper is considered to produce more venom than any other venomous snake. A single adult male may have enough venom to inject lethal dosees into 30 individual men. Not only do they produce more venom than any other snake but they also inject more deeply.

Smallest Lizard

The title of smallest lizard is held by both the Sphaerodactylus parthenopion and Sphaerodactylus ariasae which have both been recorded as having an average snout – to – vent length of only 16 mm (0.6 in). They both share the distinction of being the smallest of the approximately 23,000 species of amniote vertebrates.

Shortest Venomous Snake

The namaqua or spooted dwarf adder (Bitis schneideri) of Namibia has an average length of 20 cm (8 in).

The Most Dangerous Lizard

The Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) is a large – up to 60 cm (24 in long – heavily built, brightly colored lizard that lives in the arid parts of Mexico and Southwestern USA. It has eight well developed venom glands in its lower jaws and us carries enough venom to kill two adult humans. The venom is not injected but seeps into sharp fragile teeth. Because of this, the lizard may continue to hang on after it has bitten and chew for several minutes. In one study of 34 people bitten by the Gila, there were eight fatalities.

Longest Snake

The reticulated python (Python reticulates) of Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines often exceeds 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in), and the record length is 10 m (32 ft 9.5 n) for a specimen shot in 1912 in Celebes, Indonesia.

Heaviest Venomous Snake

The heaviest venomous snake is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) of the southeastern USA, which weighs 5.5 – 6.8 kg (12 – 15 lb) and is 1.52- 1.83 m (5 -6 ft) in length. The heaviest on record weighed 15 kg (34 lb) and was 2.36 m (7 ft 9 in) long.

Fastest Chelonian

The highest speed claimed for any reptile in water is 35 km/h (22 mph) by a frightened Pacific leatherback turtle (Dermochelyscoriacea).

Largest Tortoise

Goliath, a Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra), resided at the life Fellowship Bird Sanctuary in Seffner, Florida, USA, from 1960 until his death in November 2002. He was 1.358 m (4ft 5.5 in) long, 1.02 m (3 ft 3.6 in) wide, 68.5 cm (2 ft 3 in) tall, and weighed 417 kg (920 lb)

स्लोवेस्त Chelonian

In a speed test carried out in the Sychelles, a male giant tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) could only cover 4.75 m (14 ft 11 in) in 43.5 sec (0.37 km/h or 0.23 mph), despite the enticement of a female tortoise.

Longest Lizard

The Salvadori or Papuan monitor (Varamus salvadorii) of Papua New Guinea has been measured at up to 4.75 m (15 ft in) in length, but nearly 70 % of its total length is taken up by the tail.

The Salvadori or Papuan monitor (Varamus salvadorii) of Papua New Guinea has been measured at up to 4.75 m (15 ft in) in length, but nearly 70 % of its total length is taken up by the tail.