Emerald Tree Boa.

I've never posted about snakes, so I thought why not. This S. American boa is relatively common, but I think demonstrates the structure of a snake well. If you can get over your fear of them, it's a pretty elegant animal. They are distinctive for their positioning -- they rest on branches in the form seen in picture 2, and at night sit on low branches so it can attack small mammals by just reaching down and grabbing with its teeth. For a venomous snake, it has the largest proportioned teeth.

Depending on where in the continent they are, they have different features -- sometimes slightly different designs, different lengths (the longest are around 6 ft.) and slightly different colors. The last picture is actually of a juvenile -- they're born red and slowly turn green as it matures. Why? Perhaps because red is a color that predators avoid -- and as a baby, perhaps they are less coordinated and can be easily spotted, so this might keep others away. When older, it can move smoother and can easily blend in, thus having camouflage rather than warning signs. It's easier for hunting.

The juveniles eat glass frogs primarily, and for some reason change their diet to largely mammals later. Adults eat very rarely. Since their digestive system is so slow, it can be months between one meal and the next.

The last thing about that stands out is their reproductive system, which is actually similar to whale sharks. They are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs are within the body and are hatched before leaving the mother's body, leaving as a live birth. This is unusual for a snake -- perhaps a development that came as the snake lived almost exclusively in trees -- the eggs are mobile this way and aren't easily crushed from a fall.

Draco Lizards.

This SE Asian genus of lizards are also known as 'gliding lizards'. They stay on trees almost 24/7. The females venture down to lay eggs, guards for 24 hours, then runs away and never sees its offspring (knowingly). On trees is where they are safe. Each one is colored to match a tree species for camouflage (image #4... trust me, there's one there.) and with these 'wings' they can glide relatively large distances to avoid predation. Reptiles have an uncanny ability to use coloration for defense and signalling (see: Panther Chameleon and Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko) They also have rounded heads and a little flesh of skin that descends from their chin. Plenty of reptiles apparently also make good use of its flesh (see Jesus Christ Lizard). This is used for aerodynamics and steering -- there's no point in gliding if you can't stick a landing in a place that's safe. Similar to a rudder.

Linnaeus actually named these lizards 'draco' because of how they reminded him of dragons.

There's a video demonstrating this behavior -- it won't let me embed the video, so click here to watch it.

Thorny Devil.

This Australian lizard is named for, well, its thorns. When predators come, they'll dip their head down and show their horns (the devil part).

Its body is divided into ridges and can actually absorb water from any part of their body and then channel it to their mouth. A good thing for the desert, no?

Today's post is a simple one, so that's all I have for you today.
Back to work!

Armadillo Lizard.

To show you just how similar Pangolins can look like reptiles instead of mammals (or perhaps how reptiles can look like mammals?), here is the armadillo lizard. As you can see, like the pangolin, it has scales and its defense is to curl up in a ball. They're found in southern Africa.

Some interesting facts about these:
Females give birth to live young (rare for reptiles -- most lay eggs). They also, on occasion, feed their young, which is even more rare to find a reptile caring for young.

Also, their defense, as I said before, is to curl in a ball. It helps that its scales are awkwardly shaped for a bird of prey to grab them, so they've got that going for 'em, too. For some reason, to curl, they must bite their tail and curl (see picture #2). It is thought that the Greek symbol for self-reflexivity "Ouroboros" (see picture #4), made of a serpent / dragon biting its tail to make a circle, derives from lizards like this one that perform the same behavior.

Jesus Christ Lizard.

Once you watch the video, you'll get the name.

You find them between Panama and Venezuela in thick forests.

Their ability to run on water is a unique defense technique. They have webbed feet (think frogs) allowing them to run on water if their momentum is high enough.