#reptile species

[critter-of-the-day]

10th of October 2024: Thai Forest Skink

Already a third of the way through October, damn. Anyway, here’s the Thai Forest Skink (Sphenomorphus tersus). While it wasn’t specified why they were given the name tersus, its latin translation may be referring to the “elegant” body shape of the skink [1].

For the first 85 years of their existence, they were only known to live in Thailand, however in 2001, their presence in peninsular Malaysia was thought to be confirmed based upon a single gal found among boulders next to a stream [2]. Later analyses then found a very similar skink species inhabiting this area, meaning that whether or not they are actually found there is still uncertain [3].

They can be found in many varieties of forest, such as primary and secondary dipterocarp forests [4] – dipterocarp here referring to the family of plants found there, in this case a type of often, if not always, large tropical tree [5] – as well as monsoonal evergreen forest. This combined with their habitat being rather unthreatened has meant they are considered of Least Concern in terms of conservation [4].

Sources: [1] [2, Vol. 33, pg. 149] [3] [4] [5] [Image] 

[memoriesofthepark]

Common five-lined skink 》 Plestiodon fasciatus

Spotted this guy on the camping trip and have been seeing them around my apartment every since I got home.

Caddo Lake State Park, Texas, 3 Aug. 2024

[barghest-land]

fieldbook (mostly this year): expedition sketches. different places and seasons

[puppyeared]

wanna see a magic trick? 🪄🎩

[reasonsforhope]

"In Cambodia, 60 eggs were found in the nest of one of the world’s most endangered large reptiles, which after hatching set a new record for an international conservation effort to save them.

It was believed the Siamese crocodile, with the distinctive bony crest running down its skull, was extinct in the wild until it was rediscovered in 2000. Almost all of the 400 animals remaining live in Cambodia.

A network of private-public partnerships have been organizing conservation measures to protect the species, including captive breeding and reintroduction programs, and village patrols to ensure their nests and habitat are not tampered with.

In May [2024], locals in the Cardamom Mountains found a nesting site in an area that crocodiles hadn’t been released, suggesting they are expanding and breeding under their own powers: a tremendous sign for the species’ recovery.

“The hatching of 60 new crocodiles is a tremendous boost,” said Pablo Sinovas, who leads the Cambodia programme of conservation group Fauna & Flora International, which has been running a captive breeding program since 2012.

They’ve successfully reintroduced 196 crocs back into the wild, and it was they who deployed a team of conservationists to the nest site found in May for round-the-clock care and observation until every last one of the 60 eggs hatched, bringing their precious cargo into the world.

Generally speaking for crocodile species, the mothers are very attentive beasts, and even the fathers will help raise young if the mother isn’t around. When hatching, the little crocs emerge from the creche of eggs chirping, calling the mother in who then excavates the nest and takes any unhatched eggs in her mouth, rolling them around to speed up the hatching process.

The young are carried to the water in the mother’s mouth, where she will watch over, feed, and care for them until the next mating season."

-via Good News Network, July 19, 2024

[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

[thereweredragonshere]

Hi I was wondering what u think a female night fury be like ? Do you think like most birds they’re bigger than the males or have you got something else in mind ? Love to hear your thoughts ^^

Personally my take on the female night fury is that it is bigger than the male, with a few minor differences with ear nubs/leg spikes and stuff. I’m mainly basing that off reptiles where a lot of the time the female is bigger, but other than that there isn’t much in terms of sexual dimorphism. That being said there are a lot of examples of male reptiles being bigger than the female of the same species, but eh, it’s a fictional flying lizard, who cares.

[wbicepuppy]

In the river bed, acrylics on canvas

[critter-creature-or-beast]

Submitted for classification by @iamshmolphrog

"How bout this polite turtle"

[snototter]

The eye of an invasive green iguana (Iguana iguana) in Florida's Everglades National Park, USA

by Cath Dominguez

[critter-of-the-day]

28th of October 2024: Alligator Snapping Turtle

Let’s just keep the ridiculously large critters rolling for our Halloween season; here’s the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). They are the largest freshwater turtle in the USA [1], at a length of 40-70 cm and weight of 18-70 kg [2].

They are found mostly in the Southern parts of the United States [1], where they will prefer to stay in the parts of the waterways that offer cover to them, such as submerged logs, overhanging shrubbery, or beaver dams. They don’t leave the water, except to lay eggs, and so they also don’t spend time basking in the sun. Instead it is suspected that they use different water depths to adjust their temperature as the seasons change [3].

They are opportunistic generalist predators, being open to eating most things that come swimming their way [4]. That’s not even a metaphor, as their hunting strategy involves opening their mouth to reveal a worm-like appendage that their prey mistakes for food when the Alligator Snapping Turtle lies still. Thus they come closer and the turtle will eat them [2]. This obviously leads to a lot of fish in their diet, as well as crawfish and freshwater mussels, however researchers have also found remains of other turtles, mammals such as nutria, snakes, or even birds within their stomachs [4].

While they’re native to the USA, they have also been introduced to and are now considered an invasive species in South Africa [2]. In the 1960s and 1970s they were also threatened by commercial hunting, and while it’s been banned since, there are still people who illegal hunt them. They are also affected by the killing of other non-human animals by humans, as they may swallow hooks or become entangled in fishing lines [1]. They are rated as Vulnerable by the IUCN, but that assessment was made in 1996 and has not been updated since [5].

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [Image] 

[memoriesofthepark]

Three-toed box turtle 》 Terrapene triunguis

Sometimes if I go early enough I can say good morning to some box turtles in the park.

Southeast Texas, 12 July 2024

[omg-snakes]

I was so, so lucky to meet a very special trio of snakes for a class I'm taking on methods in field ecology. One of my two professors is a specialist in garter snakes and was kind enough to bring three different species in for us to compare in person and observe up close. The first was the gorgeous common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, pictures above. She was so calm and well-mannered!

Next was this tiny (by comparison) T. elegans dude, a western garter snake, who was wary of the camera but very patient about being passed around by a group of excited college students. He matched my classmate's sweater perfectly!

Finally, an endangered and incredibly precious T. gigas, the giant garter snake. She's about half of her maximum adult size, so a giant indeed! She musked and peed a bit but for the most part this gojira-faced beauty was pretty chill. We got to observe a full work-up for her including documenting records and microchipping.

She's one of the last of her species. Despite Herculean efforts by her protectors and conservation experts (mostly just one man and his dedicated team), this is a very difficult species to observe in the wild and their habitats are disappearing faster than their need for prioritization of protection in a given area can be assessed. These snakes rely on riparian habitat near rivers, which is also unfortunately a favorite for human development. At this time we don't know how exactly many giant garter snakes are left or whether their current populations are stable.

Today we got to visit their marshland habitat and watch these three go back to the place where they were caught. It was a huge honor and something I'll carry with me forever.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

This is pretty cool! While there are thousands of this species in captivity in crocodile farms, wild populations number in the hundreds at best. Moreover captive animals are often hybridized, not pure, and so many genetic lines have been lost for conservation purposes. And captive and wild populations have diverged enough that the loss of wild lines entirely would be a devastating blow to the species as a whole.

The success of this nest is a hopeful sign for the Siamese crocodile; here's to better news in the future.

[reasonsforhope]

Article

"2023 was a banner year for the Galapagos Islands: that wondrous archipelago so famous for its giant tortoises and other endemic species.

The long-serving conservation organization the Galapagos Conservancy, also endemic to the islands, recently published its annual report featuring standout figures like over 500 giant tortoises of 5 different species reintroduced to their natural habitat.

Additionally, a critically endangered species of albatross was identified to use giant tortoise feeding sites as take-off and landing areas. This key insight into co-dependency has given the Conservancy confidence that they can restore the populations of both animals to stable, flourishing numbers.

It underscores how far a donation to these endemic wildlife organizations really does go, and these two highlights of a successful year were only possible by the over $6 million in charitable contributions from supporters.

30 Chelonoidis chatamensis tortoises endemic to the smaller island of San Cristobal were repatriated to their natural habitat from the stock of a captive breeding program, while 97 native tortoises were returned to the second-largest island of Santa Cruz.

On the largest island of Isabella, 350 tortoises (214 C. guntheri and 136 C. vicina) were successfully reintroduced to their natural habitat after a survey found their numbers were not rising substantially on their own.

In March, the repatriation of 86 juvenile Chelonoidis hoodensis tortoises significantly contributed to enhancing the species’ distribution across their native habitat. They currently number 3,000 today on Española or Hood Island, a miraculous recovery from the 14 found there in the 1960s.

Also on Española, the endemic waved albatross was found to be taking off and landing on 50 additional parts of the island. These large birds, boasting an 8-foot wingspan, need ample space to get a running start before taking off, and this same principle applies when applying the brakes coming down from the sky.

In the survey, the biologists observed that concentrations of giant tortoises were linked with the usage of areas as runways for the albatross. Because the tortoises are the largest herbivores in the ecosystem, they perform the same acts as bison do in North America and Europe, and elephants in Africa—clear space.

With their herbivorous diet and large bulk, the tortoise’s feeding habits produce cleared areas ideal for albatross use.

“This discovery underscores the interconnectedness of the Galápagos ecosystem,” the authors of the report write. “This newly acquired knowledge allows us to strengthen the synergies between our conservation strategies.”

Of the $6.1 million received from donations and through other activities, the Conservancy was able to spend 77% of that on conservation programs, and that included some ambitious plans for this year—now already half done—which included drafting plans for restoration of the Pinta tortoise to the island of the same name, preparing tortoises for imminent reintroduction to the smaller Floreana island, and completely restoring the habitat for the Galapagos petrels on Santa Cruz.

Operating since 1985, the Galapagos Conservancy has a long track record of restoring these islands to their pre-Colombian glory. Let’s hope 2024 is as successful."

-via Good News Network, July 19, 2024

[halltastic]

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