Snake With A False Head

image credit wikifaunia.com

Did you know that the Calabar Ground Boa (Charina reinhardtii) is pretty famous for its defensive behavior because of its extraordinary blunt head and equally blunt tail that are hard to tell apart? When threatened, it rolls into a tight ball with its head safely protected in the center of the coils and raises its tail as a false head in order to protect its real head (as shown on above image).

The Calabar Ground Boa can reach a maximum length of approximately 80 – 100 cm. Its scales are black or dark brown, scattered with red or orange. The tail may be ringed or have a partial ring of bright white scales. The Boas small mouth is not suited to large prey, thus it hunts on small mammals, often invading their tunnels and nests. It may wait for the adults to leave the nest, after which it will enter to eat whole litters at a time. 

Calabar Boas are a burrowing species, and hardly ever come above ground during daylight hours. On the other hand, they can be extremely active at night, and under a red night lamp can be a very fascinating species to observe….

A Flying Lizard

While I was sifting through the internet I came across this extraordinary flying lizard that has a pair of wings consisting of skin stretched between elongated ribs (If you have a closer look at the photo you will notice that what looks like veins running through the wings is actually its ribs). These wings help it glide from one tree trunk to another to avoid predators such as birds and snakes. To take off, the lizard moves its ribs outwards and opens the flaps of skin, closing them again on landing. 

The flying lizard is generally tan or pale brown to bright yellow, with a throat flap for display that is large and bright yellow in the male, but small and pale yellow in the female. Highly agile, this lizard lives on tree trunks and actively hunts for ants. The only time a flying lizard leaves the safety of trees is when a female is ready to lay her eggs, which she buries in sand or soil. She then guards the eggs for about 24 hours, but then leaves and has nothing more to do with the offspring. 

Didn’t James Cameron say that the creatures in Avatar came from real-life inspiration? So I guess that this little flying lizard (Draco Spilonotus) has got to be it (hihihi)…

Kemp´s Ridley Turtles - Among The Smallest Marine Turtles In The World

Image National Park Service

The Atlantic or Kemp’s Ridley Turtle is amongst the smallest marine turtle in the world with an average length of approximately 2 ft (65 cm). Unfortunately it is also the rarest sea turtle and is critically endangered due to Marine Environment Threats (commercial fisheries, oil and gas exploration, marine debris), and Nesting Threats (increased human presence, human interference, poaching, beach erosion, artificial lighting, predators and so forth. read more…

Today the Kemp's Ridley population appears to be in the early stages of recovery thanks to human intervention and conservation efforts lead by USA and Mexico – Kemp´s Ridley turtles may be removed from the endangered species list in the not too distant future…

On average every two year cycles, females come ashore to lay several clutches of eggs each season. The males spend their entire lives at sea once they have hatched. Highly migratory animals, they often travel hundreds of kilometers (miles) to reach their nesting beach, which is usually the same beach where they were born. Kemp's Ridley are the only turtles which nest in the daytime.

Kemp's Ridley turtles feed on crabs, jellyfish, fish, squid, snails, starfish and a variety of other marine invertebrates, as well as some seaweed. The Kemp's Ridley have distinctive heart-shaped shells that range in color from gray to olive to black. Their bellies are white (juveniles) to yellowish (adults).

Kemp's Ridley live in large estuaries, lagoons, bays and shallow coastal areas in the Gulf of Mexico, but immature turtles, probably carried by the currents, often appear along the Atlantic coast, as far north as Nova Scotia and New England.

The Heaviest Snake In The World

image from wikipedia

The Green Anaconda is currently known as the heaviest snake in the world due to its massive weight which can go up to 550 pounds (227 kg). This unique creature is a non-poisonous constrictor with a skin color that is either olive green or yellow with oval black to brownish patches along the length of the body. The pattern of the patches is exclusive to each snake, just like a human fingerprint. Its head is relatively small (right side of image), featuring bright orange-yellow stripes on each side.

The Green Anacondas eyes and nasal openings are positioned high on top of its head allowing it see its prey and breathe while situated just beneath the water's surface. Anacondas are constrictors, which mean they coil their muscular bodies around their prey and squeeze them to death, after which they swallow their prey whole. They will eat just about anything they can overpower, including fish, birds, mammals and other reptiles. Their slow digestive systems allow a hefty meal to last for weeks or even months.

Green anacondas are viviparous reptiles, which mean they give birth to live young instead of eggs. The babies measure around 15 to 30 feet long and within hours, are able to swim and hunt.

These unique reptiles live in swamps, marshes, and slow-moving streams, mainly in the tropical rain forests of South America in areas such as the Amazon and Orinoco basins.