#lizard species

[halltastic]

Nix

[fili-oeuvre]

leaf drakes are a small species of chameleonic lizard that are able to blend into their woodland environment. they live up in the tall trees, mainly bloomin’ trees, where they fed on small insects and the nectar of the bloomin’ trees’ flowers. they are one of the main pollinators of their environment.

these lizards are capable of gliding between the trees due to wing-like membranes that can extend like wings from their sides. these membranes are very colorful on the underside, being like that of butterfly wings, while the tops are capable of changing colors for camouflage like the rest of the lizards’ scales.

[critter-of-the-day]

30th of September 2024: Hypsilurus capreolatus

Apologies for the lack of colour, but as far as I can tell, this is the only picture of Hypsilurus capreolatus available online. According to an accompanying description, they are a dirty white with brown chevrons, the latter being their primary identification feature [1].

They are considered small for their genus, having a body length of around 10 cm, though their tails are over three times as long [1]. While they were described in 2012 (with very little comment on them since), a specimen from the 60s or 70s has also been attributed to them since [2].

They were collected from only a few localities, all of them on Papua New Guinea. They were found both in primary rainforest as well as secondary forest near villages [1]. As with other species of lizards in this area, it is almost certain that they are more widely and commonly distributed than has been recorded thus far, probably across the entire west coast of Papua, thus earning them a Least Concern rating by the IUCN [2].

Sources: [1] [2] [Image]

[gpstudios]

World Lizard Day: Celebrating the Diverse and Fascinating World of Lizards

Celebrate World Lizard Day on August 14th by learning about the fascinating diversity and ecological importance of lizards. Discover ways to protect these incredible reptiles and their habitats. #WorldLizardDay #ReptileConservation #Wildlife

Every year on August 14th, reptile enthusiasts and wildlife lovers around the globe come together to celebrate World Lizard Day, a day dedicated to appreciating the incredible diversity and ecological importance of lizards. With over 6,000 species spread across every continent except Antarctica, lizards are among the most diverse and adaptable creatures on Earth. From the tiny geckos that scurry…

[kaijutegu]

Do you love the color of the North American teiid lizards?

[reasonsforhope]

"A tiny lizard found only on one tiny Caribbean island has seen a dramatic 1,500% increase in its population, after just a few years of island restoration efforts.

In 2018, researchers estimated there were fewer than 100 individuals of the critically endangered Sombrero ground lizard (Pholidoscelis corvinus) on the small hat-shaped Sombrero Island, part of Anguilla in the Caribbean. Just six years later, there are more than 1,600 of them, a recent survey has found.

“I am beyond thrilled to see the ground lizards on the road to recovery, and this is a fantastic reward for everyone who has worked hard to restore Sombrero,” Jenny Daltry, Caribbean alliance director at conservation NGOs Fauna & Flora and Re:wild, told Mongabay. “Too many island species have been lost already, and we really need to prevent extinctions whenever we can.”

Today, Sombrero Island hosts large seabird colonies and several unique and rare species. But invading mice, likely brought to the island on ships or other means by people, as well as climate change impacts, have wreaked havoc on the island’s inhabitants...

To turn things around, Fauna & Flora, Anguilla National Trust and Re:wild began restoration efforts in 2018. They trapped and removed all the mice by placing bait from June to August 2021. They also developed a “biosecurity plan” in which researchers regularly check the island to ensure it’s still mouse-free.

Given Sombrero’s remote location, the likelihood of reinvasion by mice is considered low, Daltry said. She added that the teams are also developing “remote surveillance cameras with AI capability” to automatically detect and alert them of invasive species.

While the mice may be gone, the threat from hurricanes fueled by climate change still loom close. While the researchers have been working to restore the island’s native vegetation, the island has lost much of its original soil cover, which will take time to rebuild, Daltry said. With no tree cover yet, any severe hurricane or storm surge in the future “could set back the speed of recovery of the soil layer and vegetation,” she added.

However, Daltry said she’s hopeful that even the current sparse vegetation provides the Sombrero ground lizards “with vital food and shelter, giving them a much better chance of survival when the next storm strikes.”

“This could make the difference between survival and extinction,” she said."

-via Mongabay News, December 20, 2024

[blaire-beast]

Two dire wolves

+closeups

[serpentface]

Fuck it, Longisquama analogue. Attempting to show himself off on a painted Ganmache cult statue.

[starlingfawn]

kgatlw bearded vulture furry.... reference for artfight

[mildeleef]

what is your favourite non-scug, non-iterator creature and why?

Big fan of lizards honestly

Always had soft spot for reptiles

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Island ecosystems are always more vulnerable than those on larger continents. Less space means fewer resources, which leads to each species having a smaller population. For endemic species that can't fly or otherwise get to another island or mainland, once that one island's ecology is disrupted significantly enough, the risk of extinction becomes very real.

Sombrero Island is no exception, having been completely deforested and torn up for mining. Invasive mice put further pressure on native species. With the mice eradicated, native plants can once again thrive, and the Sombrero ground lizard is less likely to see its eggs or young eaten by hungry mice, and its population has risen from fewer than 100 individuals in 2018 to over 1600 today.

This is yet another example where removing invasive species and restoring habitat with and for native ones can help an ecosystem and its inhabitants recover. The more biodiversity we preserve on our planet, even in these seemingly tiny, isolated places, the better equipped all of us will be to weather the years to come.

[halltastic]

🥗

[fili-oeuvre]

leaf drakes have a chameleon-like tongue that shoots out to catch small insects (like how irl chameleon tongues work). they also have a long butterfly-like proboscis that uncoil from their mouths to feed on the nectar of flowers.

[critter-of-the-day]

5th of November 2024: Liolaemus tromen

Let us take a moment to take a look at Liolaemus tromen before you go about the rest of your day. They’re a type of lizard initially described in 2012 from Argentina [1].

They are 6-8 cm long, which sets them apart from their closest relatives, who all tend to be shorter than that [1]. As there are over 200 species in the Liolaemus genus, it was a bit under debate as to which sub-genus group they belong to. While the initial paper inferred several possibilities based on their size and body structure, since it’s been genetically confirmed that they are part of the L. rothi group [2].

Males and females can be easily told apart by their stomach colouration, as males have a predominantly dark stomach while females have a lighter one. There’s not been too much study on their lives, it is likely that they predominantly eat insects. In the field they were mostly found near the larger bushes in their habitat [1].

They were named after the Tromen Volcano in the Neuquén Province in Argentina, which is where they were originally found [1]. While their total range does no appear to be very large, they have been found in surveys there for many years, and so they are unlikely to be in decline. The IUCN ranked them under Least Concern, though this assessment is a decade old at this point [3].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [Image] 

[affectionatecorpse]

I'm once again getting overly philosophical over horror movies, so here's a study of the death angels from A Quiet Place as observed by a very enthusiastic animal loving veterinarian.

Every time people talk about death angels, it is, understandably, about how violent they are. These creatures are brutal and merciless, and will tear apart anything that makes too much noise. Hence the title of the movie.

Death angels are frankly terrifying, and show no empathy towards the creatures of the planet they invaded. No living thing is safe from them.

... so here's why they COULD be--

Look. Death angels are simply not suited for our planet. It's a noisy, chaotic place full of noisy, chaotic animals. From humans, to raccoons, to birds, to cats, nearly everything in our world is a potential trigger for a noise sensitive animal such as these.

But that's exactly what they are. Animals. And no one seems to remember that fact. People talk about them as though they themselves are sentient, anthropomorphic monsters, but the way these creatures act mimic many real life animals. Animals that don't belong here, but are trying to survive here. On a noisy planet covered in water, which they despise and cannot swim in.

Death angels are completely blind by nature, as seen in many other creatures such as cavefish, moles, and my personal favourite, the olm. Due to a lack of sight, they very clearly use echolocation in the film, to scan their surroundings and... well, not get dead. But echolocation is far from their only tool, as their ears are the strongest asset they have.

Their ears are INCREDIBLY sensitive. Just the slight ticking of an egg timer when heard from their perspective in the first film, is like a pounding drum in their ear. This is fine in a naturally quiet planet, but if a very subtle tick is that loud, then imagine the rest of the noise. Screaming. Explosions. Crashing. Little toy planes. Holy CRAP, that's gotta hurt.

Sounds that loud would definitely cause extreme hearing problems from pressure over time, and easily result in lifelong illnesses and disabilities such as deafness, infection, and so forth, if not stopped. It's going to be painful. It's literally bursting their ear drums inside their heads, and you can't explain to an animal why it hurts. You cannot rationalise with wildlife about treatment and self care. An injured and scared animal is always going to turn hostile, no matter how docile they may be normally. You can't explain to a lion with a knife in it's belly that you can stop the pain if it just doesn't attack you. You can't explain to a death angel that it needs to go somewhere more isolated instead of just destroying the source of the noise to shut it up.

Going to backtrack here a sec. Remember how I mentioned echolocation being another asset this creature has? Which means the slightest movement, the tiniest breath, can immediately allow you to be seen by it. With ears that good, too? It can see you from ages away. It knows you're there. Which means they DON'T attack for sport.

'Evil' is a concept rarely seen in nature. Yes, a lot of humans can be evil. And yes, many creatures can be too. Animals hunt for sport as well. Cats, for example! Although even then, I wouldn't describe it as evil. Calling the death angels evil implies they're attacking out of malicious intent, which just isn't true. In moments of panic, they'll destroy. But they are fully aware of humans around them.

Humans need to breathe, and can't stay perfectly still very easily. The death angels would be able to see our main cast at several points, even when they're being quiet. They don't attack whenever they locate a sign of life. For example, the scene in the basement. Being that close, whether the water was running or not, that alien absolutely would've heard Evelyn and the baby's sharp breaths. It didn't care. It was clicking at them almost curiously before it heard the bang of the silo, to which it ditched them to stop the sound.

This scene is a great example of why they don't kill for sport. Injured and young animals are especially easy prey for a creature built so strong and nimble. Evelyn is shown to be terrified of the mere presence of this thing, but it never actually does anything in the scene. It moves about. Ignores her movements in the flooding water. Investigates the baby. Clicks curiously at her while she backs away. It moves slowly and on all fours, when we know while aggressive, they will stand up on their hind legs (unless sprinting) and move very fast.

This implies it was in... well, not a submissive position, but a nonthreatening one. It wasn't baring it's teeth (as best it could), it had it's claws tucked up and unused, and was in no way in a primed-to-attack mentality. Until the silo made a loud bang. And even then, it could've quickly sliced up the two in the basement before running off, but it DIDN'T. It just left, without a moment of hesitation.

Let's also acknowledge the anatomy.

This is a carnivore. With sharp teeth for ripping apart prey, sharp claws for defence, and thick armour for protection from it's natural climate, as well as strong, long legs for running, this is absolutely a meat eater. The fact it's so well equipped makes me wonder if their natural prey is just as dangerous as them, which is why they have such tough skin. Or if they themselves have something above them in the food chain.

They seem to be pack animals, as usually others aren't far behind when one is about. Such as the trio by the Abbott house, the few at the docks, the ones by Emet's hideout, and even that group sliding down the building in the Day One clip I keep seeing as a gif. With their knack for running included, I wonder if they function like lions? Blending into their environment back home, clicking to hear prey, then the whole pack going on the chase when their target is vulnerable, in a way.

I got distracted. My point was, in a year, all the bodies from past victims vanished. All those people in the town who were swiped left and right just vanished from the town. They couldn't have decomposed in such short time, which means something moved them when it was safe. Something like a carnivore needing food after it felt comfortable in the silent aftermath. The argument that they do it for sport is one I see all the time, and it's just not true.

Everything needs to eat. Carnivores need to eat. Animals need to protect themselves from suspected danger. They never eat on screen because whenever they're on screen, they're surrounded by noise and are DISTRESSED. Have you ever had a sick pet? Most of the time, it won't eat when it's ill because it's too stressed, uncomfortable or in too much pain. When having their ear drums assaulted, a death angel isn't going to sit down with a cup of tea and a grilled cheese. Also, I won't add it because there's blood, but in the scene with the old man screaming in the woods, after it attacks, you can actually see it go back on all fours and sniff about the aftermath, like a hungry predator catching prey to eat. This was probably the first and currently only on screen proof of my claim.

By all means, not all animals are meant to be tamed. Jordan Peele's Nope said that best. Yet I can't help but wonder about the individual. Every animal is completely unique. Some will tolerate more than others. Due to their realistic nature and the similarities to actual animals, in specific circumstances, could they be befriended?

Anyway keep an eye out for A Quiet Place 4 where someone has a pet one that wears doggy ear protectors and accepts meat in exchange for pets-- /j

[demitsorou]

My thrall Saros, he's a giant 14ft tall biopunk lizard demon that can shift form between the said giant lizard and a fucked up monster man with fat tits. Artworks from 2019/2020

Thralls and The Loyal Ones Fantasy Universe belong to @sixfootart