All the most interesting things in one magazine. Interesting facts, amazing facts, unknown facts in the museum of facts

Reptile facts

• Reptiles found on all continents except Antarctica.
• Reptiles have existed for more than 300 million years.
• There are more than 8,000 species of reptiles in the world.
• Reptiles- This lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles, and less famous bands tuataras and amphisbaenians.
• Reptiles have scales or horny plates that cover their body.
• You can often see reptiles lying in the sun on rocks and rocks.
• They can rarely breathe underwater.
• Reptiles are called cold-blooded because they cannot regulate their body temperature. Their body temperature depends on the ambient temperature.
• Most reptiles lay eggs, which have leathery shells that are resistant to drying out.
• Compared to mammals and birds, reptiles have neither fur nor feathers.
• The extinct dinosaurs were reptiles.
• Reptiles fertilize their eggs internally and do not use water as a medium to lay their eggs.
• Most reptiles have a three-chambered heart.
• Some reptiles are viviparous.
• In most reptile species, the young are independent from the moment of hatching.
• The most long snake- the reticulated python, and the heaviest is the anaconda.
• Reptiles do not form distinct evolutionary groups like mammals and birds. The class Reptilia consists of four orders, which are very different from each other. For example, lizards are more closely related to birds than to turtles. Crocodiles belong to the order Crocodiles and Alligators. The order Rhynchocephalia consists of only two species, known as tuataras, which are native to New Zealand. The Scaly order consists of lizards, snakes and other similar creatures. All turtle species are included in the order Testudines.
• The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard.
• In very hot or dry climates, some reptiles spend the summer hibernating, or going into torpor.
• If a snake is born with two heads, then these two heads fight each other for food.
• They have waterproof leather.
• The crocodile has the ability to grow new teeth to replace old ones.
• An interesting fact is that a crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.
• The Egyptians used crocodile dung as the first contraceptive in human history in 2000 BC.
• Some snakes, such as the anaconda and reticulated python, can survive for months without eating.
• At least 250 species of turtles, 25 species of crocodiles, 5,500 species of snakes and 3,000 species of lizards live on Earth.
• Reptiles have more advanced vascular, respiratory, excretory and nervous system than amphibians.
• The largest reptile is saltwater crocodile, which grows up to 7 meters in length.
• Some snakes are poisonous. They have fangs and when they bite their prey they inject their venom.
• Once upon a time, snakes had legs and a new discovery shows that at least one had hips. Again open view The snake, Najash rionegrina, lived about 90 million years ago in Patagonia, Argentina.
• Lorne Greene had one of his nipples chewed off by a crocodile while filming Kingdom Wildlife Lorna Green."
• Many giant tortoises (Geochelone) lived between 120 and 150 years.
• Some lizards, such as the chameleon, can change colors to blend in with their environment. This camouflages them and gives them protection from predators.
• On the Australian continent poisonous snakes more than non-poisonous ones.
• The basilisk lizard can run on the surface of the water without drowning.
• Most species of snakes can move their jaws, allowing them to swallow prey much larger than themselves.
• Snakes have no limbs. They move by sliding along the ground.
• Most reptiles are carnivores and feed on insects, other reptiles, and small animals.
• Some reptiles are herbivores and eat plants.
• Interestingly, turtles appeared on Earth before dinosaurs.
• Although reptiles breathe using their lungs, some reptiles can also absorb oxygen from water through membranes in their mouths.

Surprisingly, the distance between the alligator's eyes in centimeters is directly proportional to the alligator's length in meters.

What animals do the third eye help navigate in space?

The third eye, or parietal eye, is a common light-sensitive organ in some agnathans, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. It is located between the main eyes and is much smaller in size, and is also covered with skin, although more transparent. It contains a retina, a nerve and an analogue of a lens, which allows it to perceive the direction of sunlight, the polarization of light from the sky and, according to some hypotheses, the lines of force of the Earth's magnetic field. For many species, the necessity of the parietal eye for normal orientation in space has been experimentally confirmed. In birds and mammals, all that remains of the third eye is the pineal organ - the so-called pineal body, which is part of the endocrine system.

Which person have you been friends with for 20 years? wild crocodile?

In 1991, Costa Rican Gilberto Sedden discovered a dying crocodile on the river bank, shot in the left eye. He took him away in a boat and nursed him for six months at his home, where he not only fed and gave him medicine, but also cuddled the reptile, which he named Pocho. When Pocho recovered, Gilberto took him to the river, but he returned to the house after him and began to live in a pond nearby. They began to swim together every day, play and hug, and later Gilberto began to organize performances for tourists from this. In 2011, Pocho died of old age.

What marine and terrestrial reptiles are able to mate and produce offspring?

The Galapagos Islands are home to both marine iguanas, which eat mainly algae, and terrestrial iguanas, called conolophans, which eat mainly cacti and prickly pears. Despite the fact that these lizards belong not only to different species, but even genera, they are able to mate and produce viable offspring. Hybrid iguanas feel equally good under water and on land, and due to sharper claws they can climb up cacti, unlike conolophids, which only pick up fallen fruits. However, hybrids are no longer able to reproduce.

How high can crocodiles climb trees?

Crocodiles can climb trees and do it willingly. Watching individuals different types in Australia, Africa and America, zoologists have noticed crocodiles climbing trees to a height of up to two meters, although according to the testimony of some local residents they can climb much higher - up to ten meters. While young crocodiles can climb vertically up a trunk, adult crocodiles can only climb branches inclined toward the ground or water. Scientists associate this behavior with the desire of crocodiles to explore their territory and bask in the sun.

In which animals is necrophilia a common reproductive strategy?

In Amazonian frogs Rhinella proboscidea, the number of males is 10 times higher than the number of females. During the mating season, males, fighting for females, form large balls, under which the females sometimes drown. This fact does not stop some males - instead of fighting for the living, they extract eggs from the bodies of already dead females and fertilize them. Biologists have called this unique behavior “functional necrophilia.”

What animals eat their tail and in what cases?

The tail, which the lizard throws away in case of danger, “dances” to attract attention to itself. for a long time, and in some species it even makes sounds due to the friction of scales against each other. The North American scincella, after throwing off its tail, returns to this place after some time, and if the predator does not feast on the tail, it eats it itself, since it contains a large number of nutrients. In rare cases, the tail breaks, but does not break off completely - then the lizard may grow another tail at the site where the vertebrae are broken.

Why are lizards that reproduce by parthenogenesis still involved in mating games?

Many species of lizards are capable of reproducing through parthenogenesis, that is, without the participation of a male. Parthenogenesis is the most well studied in the population of lizards Cnemidophorus neomexicanus. Despite the complete absence of males among them, reptiles are still involved in mating rituals. Immediately after laying eggs, the female retains increased level progesterone, which encourages her to play the role of a male, climbing on other females whose laying is yet to come. Studies have shown that the productivity of lizards after such “mating” due to the release of hormones is higher than that of isolated individuals.

How does a snake charmer make a snake that is deaf to the sound of a pipe dance?

The spectacled snake from the genus of cobras is absolutely deaf to the sounds of the pipe. From the outside it may seem that the snake seems to be dancing, moving to the beat of the snake charmer’s melody. In fact, it simply follows the movements of the pipe, and also reacts to the vibration that the caster creates by tapping his foot. By the way, the lives of Indian masters of this profession are not in danger during the performance - all the venom from the cobra’s teeth is removed in advance.

What animals collect moisture in front of their eyes and then drink from it?

Gecko lizards do not have eyelids, so they are forced to periodically wet a special transparent membrane over their eyes with their tongue. And the web-footed geckos, which live in the deserts of Namibia, use this feature for the reverse process. Almost every morning, fog falls on the dunes here, after which liquid condenses in front of the lizard’s eyes. The gecko then licks it off to quench its thirst.

Which snake feeds exclusively on bird eggs, much larger than itself?

The African egg snake is unique in that it can feed exclusively on bird eggs, the diameter of which can significantly exceed the size of the snake itself. She succeeds in this thanks to the very mobile joints of the skull bones, underdeveloped teeth and special processes of the cervical vertebrae. It is thanks to them that the snake opens the shell, swallowing the liquid and then spitting out the remains of the shell.

Which chameleon muscle hardly slows down as the temperature drops?

Chameleons are cold-blooded animals, and as the air temperature drops, their nervous and muscular activity slows down. However, the speed of throwing out the tongue, which chameleons use to catch prey, decreases very slightly: if at 35 °C it is 4 m/s, then at 15 °C it is 3.4 m/s. This feature has helped chameleons gain an advantage over other reptiles that become inactive in cold weather.

Where do soft-shell turtles live?

Not all turtles have a hard shell. Turtles of the soft-bodied superfamily completely lack horny scutes, so their shell is soft and leathery to the touch. Most species of this taxon also have a greatly reduced bony carapace. This is explained by the fact that such turtles spend most of their time motionless, burrowing into the sand at the bottom of the reservoir and waiting for prey.

What type of lizard is both oviparous and viviparous?

An Australian lizard called the yellow-bellied three-toed skink is known in different ways childbearing within the same species. In populations living on the seashore, the cubs hatch from eggs, and in cold mountainous areas these lizards are viviparous. The genus of forest lizards found in our latitudes also have similar properties - they lay eggs only in the southwest of their range.

What animal can get drunk by simply burying itself in wet sand?

The Moloch lizard, living in the deserts of Australia, has unique ability collect water with your skin. The liquid that gets on the skin is not immediately absorbed, but enters the lizard’s mouth through microscopic channels between the scales. Moloch is able to extract water even from wet sand, simply by burying his belly in it.

Where can you see flying snakes?

In Asian countries you can find flying snakes. They can climb to the tops of trees and from there soar down, spreading their ribs to the sides and turning into a kind of flat ribbon. Some individuals can cover distances of up to 100 meters in this way.

No animal can change colors this way and look in two directions at once, so the chameleon is definitely worth learning more about. The naked eye can see that the chameleon is one of the most beautiful and unusual reptiles on the planet. Here are ten interesting facts that you might not know.
1. Almost half of the world's chameleon species live on the island of Madagascar, with 59 different species that do not exist anywhere outside the island. There are approximately 160 species of chameleon. They are distributed from Africa to southern Europe, from southern Asia to Sri Lanka. They have also been introduced into the United States in places such as Hawaii, California and Florida.

2. Read more about color change. Most chameleons change color from brown to green and back, but some can take on almost any color. In just 20 seconds, repainting can occur. Chameleons are born with special cells that have color or pigment in them. These cells are found in the layers beneath the chameleon's outer shell. They are called chromatophores. The top layers of chromatophores have a red or yellow pigment. The lower layers have blue or white pigment. When these pigment cells change, changes in the chameleon's skin color occur.

Chromatophores change because they receive a message from the brain. The message tells the cells to expand or shrink. These actions cause the cell's pigments to mix, just like paint. Melanin also helps chameleons change color. Melanin fibers can spread like spider webs through layers of cells, and their presence causes the skin to darken.

Many people think that the color of chameleons blends in with their environment. Scientists do not agree with this. Their research shows that light, temperature and mood cause chameleons to change. Sometimes a change in color can make a chameleon appear calmer. Sometimes this helps the reptile communicate with other chameleons.

3. A chameleon's eyes have a 360-degree view and can see in two directions at once. Chameleons have the most special eyes of any reptile. They can rotate and focus separately to observe two different objects at the same time, allowing their eyes to move independently of each other.

This gives them a full 360 degree arc of vision around their body. When prey is located, both eyes can be focused in the same direction, providing acute stereoscopic vision and depth perception. Chameleons have very good vision for reptiles, allows them to see small insects at a long distance (5-10 m).

4. Chameleons vary greatly in size and body structure from maximum length, varying from 15 millimeters in males of Brookesia micra (one of the smallest reptiles in the world) to 68.5 centimeters in males of Furcifer oustaleti.

5. A chameleon's tongue can be 1.5-2 times the length of their body. They can shoot their tongue out of their mouth to capture prey. It was recently discovered that smaller chameleons have proportionally more large tongues than the big ones. The tongue is thrown with extremely high efficiency, reaching prey in just 0.07 seconds.

7. Males are usually much brighter. Many have decorations on the head or face, others may have large combs on top.

8. Chameleons don't hear very well. Like snakes, chameleons do not have an outer or middle ear, and thus do not have an eardrum. However, chameleons are not deaf. They can pick up sound frequencies in the range of 200-600 Hz.

9. Chameleons see in both normal and ultraviolet light. Chameleons exposed to ultraviolet light show greater activity and are more likely to hunt.

10. The American chameleon is not actually a chameleon. Anolis carolinensis is not a true chameleon, but a small lizard of the iguana family.