Issue 83: Reptiles Rock!

Am I an armadillo?

Am I a lizard?

Or am I, in fact, a small and fantastically spiky dragon?

NO! I am an armadillo girdled lizard and I live in South Africa.

I do curl up to protect my soft tummy, like an armadillo. And I’m covered almost completely in hard, pointy scales, like an armadillo. But I’m a reptile, not a mammal.

have one (two at most) young. Sometimes mums even take a year off to look after their offspring – imagine that! Who knew lizards could be nurturing?

We armadillo girdled lizards live in a lounge of around 60. We communicate by wagging our tails, bobbing our heads and (bit rude, this) flicking our tails to tell creatures to get lost. Like most lizards, we can drop our tails to escape predators. And we may be small but our bite is mighty – it can break our own jaws!

Because we look awesome and we’re friendly, humans once thought we made perfect exotic pets. No way, José! That’s totally illegal now – PHEW!

See you later!

Spike

PS Watch out for mongooses and meerkats – they’re meanies

I’m a diurnal, sun-basking, termite munching, super-sociable kind of reptile, too. Which, if you know anything about my cold-blooded sort, is a bit unusual. Plus, we are one of the few lizard species to give birth to live neonates. Only once a year we

Vocabulary

Diurnal: Active during the day.

Lounge: The collective noun for a group of lizards.

Neonate: Newborn animals that don’t hatch out of an egg.

REPTILES ROCK!

Let’s rep about raptiles, er, rap about reptiles, and answer some crucial questions…

Tortoises, lizards, snakes and crocodiles are all very different, so what makes a reptile a reptile?

Reptiles all have backbones and lungs, and they all breathe air. Their skin is made of scales, bony plates or a mixture of the two.

Does ‘cold-blooded’ mean they shiver all the time?

No, they don’t have ice in their veins! It means they can’t control their body heat, which changes with the air temperature. So, if reptiles get too hot, they must find somewhere colder to cool down. If they’re too cold, they bask in the sun to soak up heat.

So, do they feel warm or cold?

Not like we do, but the temperature does affect them. Imagine if you got much slower every time it got colder. Walking to school on a winter’s day suddenly takes ages, your eating and drinking slows right down, and you hardly ever poo. Those are the kind of effects that cold has on reptiles!

Why do some reptiles have no limbs?

It’s how they evolved over millions of years. About 150 million years ago, snakes had legs – can you picture that? We’re not sure why they lost them. Maybe they started to burrow and no longer needed legs as they tunnelled through the ground.

Some lizards don’t have legs either, including the European glass lizard. Honestly, it’s not a snake!

Fun Fact

Pythons and boa constrictor snakes still have tiny back leg bones buried in muscles near their tail ends!

This time, we give a warm welcome to lots of cold-blooded creatures, because…

Why do some reptiles flick their tongues?

You’d feel weird poking your tongue out to smell a flower, but snakes and lizards smell with their tongues. They flick them to grab smells from the air and set them down inside their mouth. There, the scents come into contact with an organ that helps their brain to recognise them. I’ll stick to sniffing, thanks!

How do some snakes swallow big animals?

Have you ever had a ‘supersize’ meal? If so, you have something in common with a hungry python. Some of these snakes have been known to swallow an adult deer, a small cow – even a crocodile! Their super-bendy jaws can open veeeeeery wide and eat anything as big as their skin can stretch. Then they use muscle power to force the prey down their throat.

Fun Fact

In Florida, USA, a greedy Burmese python once tried to swallow a huge alligator – and exploded!

How do turtles, including tortoises, hear with no ears?

Ah, but they do have an inner ear, inside their heads, and a single bone sends sound to it. They hear about as well as snakes, but less well than reptiles with ears on the outside, like crocodiles and most lizards. Turtles hear low, rumbling sounds such as thunder or underwater noises best of all.

Do all reptiles lay eggs?

Most do, but some – including some snakes and lizards – give birth to live young.

G-egg-cko! A baby tokay gecko hatching

Hey, what about all those amazing extinct reptiles?

Just slither over the page…

RUSTY’S EXTINCT REPTILES!

Hi, Rusty fans! They gave me this part to write because I’m the world’s top dinosaur expert.

The first-ever reptiles we know about were small lizard-like ones that lived in forests over 300 million years ago. But much bigger reptiles came later Here’s one! Big, bony-armoured reptiles called Pareiasaurs roamed our planet over 251 million years ago. These peaceful plant-eaters were probably slow and clumsy but wandered widely to find fresh leaves to eat.

WHO ARE YOU CALLING CLUMSY?

But the best reptiles of all were yet to come. Yes, the greatest creatures of all time (except for our cat Luke Skywhisker)…

DINOSAURS!

Their name comes from Greek words meaning ‘terrible reptile’. I know what you’re thinking: “They weren’t terrible, they were brilliant!” But the word ‘terrible’ was just to describe their extreme size. Mind you, some dinosaurs were rabbit-sized, and some of the largest

were peaceful, plant-munching vegans. It’s the smaller, fast meat-eaters I’d worry about!

Fun Fact

Despite the pictures we see, many –maybe all – dinosaurs had feathers!

Some people think dinosaurs all existed at the same time in the same place.

NOOOOOOOO! Many of them lived millions of years apart and on different parts of the planet. I’ll tell you about the three periods of history when dinosaurs ruled the Earth…

QUIZ CORNER

Movies often show a tyrannosaurus rex fighting a triceratops. But did these dinosaurs really live at the same time, in the same place? Answer below!

QUIZ ANSWER:

Yes – there are even fossils of a T. rex and triceratops that fought to the death!

© eonello calvetti/Alamy Stock Photo

THE TRIASSIC PERIOD

The first dinosaurs appeared partway through this era, about 245 million years ago. They were small creatures, zipping around on two legs. But by the time it ended, some early dinosaurs were over nine metres long!

DINOSAUR DAYS!

THE JURASSIC PERIOD

This dinosaur-packed era followed, starting about 201.3 million years ago. But there were no tyrannosauruses like in the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies! I emailed the filmmakers to complain, but guess what? They didn’t remake the films!

THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD

This era came next, starting about 145 million years ago. Dinosaurs were the most successful land animals, and flying reptiles called pterosaurs ruled the skies. There were lots of dinosaurs with horns or duck-bills, and hungry T. rexes with razor-sharp, banana-sized teeth were around. It ended about 66 million years ago, and the dinosaurs died out with it.

DEADLY DINO-HUNTER?

I’M JAWSOME!

This giant reptile is a Sarcosuchus – also known as super-croc! It was nearly double the size of today’s biggest crocodiles.

These monsters kept growing – and growing and growing – all their lives, possibly reaching a whopping 12 metres! They may have hunted dinosaurs – or just eaten huge fish. They lived over 100 million years ago in Africa, where the Sahara Desert is now. (Back then, it was a lush forest with rivers.)

One group of dinosaurs evolved – not into today’s reptiles but into today’s birds. So, in a way, dinosaurs still rule the skies!

Thecodont

Brachiosaurus

Tyrannosaurus rex

Charlie Meets…

Some Ancient Reptiles!

Charlie: It’s me, Charlie, the Eco Kid who can chat with animals. Rusty asked me to check his notes for his dinosaur feature. But there were zillions, and his writing’s so hard to read. I won’t have time to find a reptile to interview now. I can hardly even stay awake. Zzzzz…

Hey, where am I? Ferns? Weird palm trees? It looks like the Jurassic period I was just reading about. Britain was made up of a lot of tropical islands back then –and it is really warm and marshy. But that was over 150 million years ago!

At least I can hide in these ferns if a scary meat-eater comes. Rusty’s notes said Britain had lots of dinosaurs. Who’s this? It looks like a pterosaur. They were the first-ever flying reptiles. They’re

not dinosaurs, though –more like close cousins.

Hi, I’m Charlie.

Pterosaur: So you’re a Charlie, are you? Well, I’ve never seen anything like you before.

Charlie: No, there were no humans around in Jurassic times.

Pterosaur: Well, I bet you Charlies can’t fly with those silly arms! Unlike us pterosaurs. We’re kings of the sky!

Charlie: Yes, one day birds will take over, but for now it’s you guys.

Pterosaur: Rubbish, we’ll rule the skies forever. We patrol every ocean and island on Earth, you know! Can you Charlies do that?

Charlie: Er, no.

Pterosaur: I’m planning a big hunting trip over the ocean, myself.

Charlie: Hunting what?

Pterosaur: I’ll dive-bomb for fish. The rest of the time, I’ll eat on the wing, snatching insects. Yum!

Charlie: But I thought pterosaurs were huge.

Pterosaur: You Charlies aren’t so big yourself! Some of us are GIGANTIC – but not all. Some are far smaller than me.

Fun Fact

The “t” in pterosaur is silent, so it’s pronounced “terra-saw”!

like tree trunks and it’s longer than my local park’s tennis court! If it swings that tail, it’ll be like cracking the world’s biggest whip!

H-h-hello...

Cetiosaurus: Do stop shaking. I’m a gentle giant.

Charlie: Oh, yes, you look like one of the plant-eating sauropod dinosaurs. I think you’re a cetiosaurus. Rusty’s notes said plenty of you roamed England. Hey, your rows of teeth look like sharp combs.

Cetiosaurus: Ideal for stripping the leaves from all these ferns. You weren’t planning on eating my ferns, were you?

Charlie: No. I eat plenty of plants, but those look pretty hard to digest!

Cetiosaurus: Oh, they even take me days to digest. But I love them. I’ll even push a tree down if it’s blocking my favourite ferns!

Charlie: That super-long neck of yours must be handy for reaching the highest leaves.

Cetiosaurus: Even better, I can rear up on my hind legs for that!

Charlie: That’s amazing if you’re as heavy as you look. Are you the biggest dinosaurs around?

Cetiosaurus: I’ve never seen any bigger. And I’m not even that old – I’ll grow much larger than this.

Charlie: You’re covered in feathery fuzz, too.

Pterosaur: So is your head!

Charlie: It’s just that I always thought you were scaly reptiles, but you’re more like a bat. Wait, what’s that big thumping noise?

Pterosaur: One of those huge monsters stomping around. They can’t catch pterosaurs because they can’t fly. Byeeee!

Charlie: Ulp, he’s right. A massive dinosaur’s heading my way. Its legs are

Charlie: I love you big, peaceful planteaters, but I’m scared a fierce dinosaur might come.

Cetiosaurus: Don’t worry – I’d whack it with my tail.

Charlie: Can I come and meet your herd, then? That would be sooooo brilliant…

But that’s when I woke up and realised I’d been dreaming!

©

Ivan Vdovin/Alamy Stock Photo

Galápagos Pink Land Iguana

The Missing Pink

Pink lizards – who knew? Well, nobody for ages, it seems, because this species was only discovered 35 years ago! Now the rosy-coloured reptile is living on the edge of extinction... Literally!

Pink land iguana land

The Galápagos Islands lie in the Pacific Ocean, 1,000km off the coast of South America. They’re famous for their unique wildlife, including 30 species of reptiles that aren’t found anywhere else in the world – such as the Galápagos giant tortoise and the sea-going marine iguana.

Four of a Kind

The Galápagos Islands are home to four types of iguana: the Galápagos pink land iguana, the Galápagos land iguana, the Santa Fé land iguana and the marine iguana.

Galápagos pink land iguanas are only found on the island of Isabela. They live on the dry, grassy slopes of Wolf Volcano. This area is strictly off-limits to tourists –only scientists are allowed to enter pink land iguana land!

Missing the pink

Pink iguanas weren’t spotted on Isabela until 1986. But park rangers thought they were just oddly-coloured Galápagos land iguanas, which are also found on the island and look quite similar (although they are more of a yellowy colour). It wasn’t until 2009 that the Galápagos pink land iguana was officially confirmed as a completely different species from all other iguanas.

Pink undies!

The pink land iguana gets its unusual colour because its skin has no pigment.

The Galápagos land iguana

This means that blood can be seen underneath the skin’s surface, giving it that distinctive rosy glow! Black stripes on its back and tail complete the lizard’s strange look!

Did You Know?

An adult Galápagos pink land iguana can measure more than a metre long and weigh up to 5kg – that’s longer and heavier than your average pet cat!

Think pink

Scientists don’t know a lot about the pink land iguana’s lifestyle because they haven’t studied it in detail yet. They believe it lives in burrows beneath the ground and mainly eats prickly pear cactus (like the Galápagos land iguana). Not much is understood about its breeding behaviour either, but males are thought to attract females by bobbing their heads up and down three times!

Darwin's Failed Discovery

Charles Darwin famously visited the Galápagos Islands in 1835. The wildlife that he discovered on his trip inspired his groundbreaking theory of evolution. He stayed on Isabela Island for four days, but never went to Wolf Volcano – so missed out on being the first person to find a pink land iguana. Shame!

Pink on the brink

ISABELLA

Only about 200 pink land iguanas live on a small part of Wolf Volcano. This makes them very vulnerable – just one bad event could wipe them all out in one go!

It could be:

• A volcanic eruption

Wolf Volcano is an active volcano, so it could erupt at any time. The last time it erupted was in 2015. The iguanas survived this somehow, but would they be so lucky if it happened again?

• Drought Long periods of dry weather could become more common due to climate change. This might mean a lack of food and water for the iguanas.

• Introduced predators Cats and rats (which humans have brought to the islands) eat iguana eggs and young iguanas. This could be disastrous!

Pink future

Scientists need to find out more about the pink land iguana and what it needs to survive. Only then will they know how to save it from extinction. And hopefully the future for this pink-skinned reptile will look a little rosier!

Vocabulary

Pigment: A substance that gives a plant or animal its colour.

Vulnerable: At risk or in danger.

Wolf volcano

© Minden Pictures/Alamy

Stock Photo

EXPERT

Komodo Dragons

They may not be able to breathe fire, but Komodo dragons are still a force to be reckoned with. Matt Cook, Lower Vertebrates & Invertebrates Lead Keeper at Chester Zoo, tells us all about our planet’s largest lizard.

Noah: How big are Komodo dragons?

Komodo dragons can grow to nearly three metres long and weigh up to 120kg. Their weight can vary dramatically because they can eat up to 80% of their body weight in one sitting. In the wild, Komodo dragons can – and sometimes must – go for long periods with no food at all, so they become very skinny, then they eat as much as they can every four to six weeks.

Jack: How fast can they run? Can they use their tail as a whip?

They run in short bursts to ambush prey and their speed is a similar pace to an

adult human. They do use their tail as a defensive whip against other dragons.

Leah: Can they swim?

Yes, very well, but they don’t do it apart from in extreme circumstances, like having no choice but to move from one island to another. Otherwise, they happily stay on land. They swim quite like a crocodile, tucking their limbs in and using their tail to propel them.

Matt Cook

Crystal: Is their bite really as dangerous as people say?

Yes – their teeth are small, but they are serrated like a knife, and they have a lot of them, so when they bite, it leaves a messy wound. The venom causes the victim’s blood to thin, so their prey usually dies from blood loss, rather than the bite itself.

Rudy: What do Komodo dragons eat?

In the wild, they eat anything and everything – chicks, eggs, fish, small rodents, calf, deer, buffalo and sea turtles. At the zoo, we feed them either a calf or large turkey every four to six weeks, and use rodents and chunks of meat to encourage them during training.

Jess: Have you seen Komodo dragons in the wild?

In 2013, I was the first in my team at the zoo to go and work with these magnificent animals in their natural habitats in Indonesia. Studying them in the wild to improve how we look after them was an absolute privilege.

Elma: Where do wild Komodo dragons usually hang about?

They prefer savannah to get the sun and dry monsoon forests to cool off. They usually stay close to the shore and beaches to have easy access to food.

Callan: What do they do all day?

That all depends on the time of year. During mating season, males spar to mate with females. Females create a nest and guard their eggs. When they hatch, the babies head up a tree and live on their own for around three to four years, eating birds and flying foxes, until they’re big enough that other adults won’t eat them.

Nunu: Can Komodo dragons breathe fire?

They can’t, although they do resemble mythical fire-breathing dragons! They evolved from a larger Komodo dragon-like lizard that became extinct many years ago.

Siyaam: What sounds does a Komodo make?

They huff and puff when they get angry but, other than that, they don’t make too much noise.

Maya: Are they scared of anything?

Komodo dragons have no predators, so the only thing they’d be scared of is another Komodo dragon.

Natalie: What is the most interesting thing about Komodo dragons?

It’s hard to pick just one! The way they feed is special and different from any other lizard; they look different because they are so big; they’re almost like living dinosaurs; they’re really intelligent; and females can produce young without mating. The fact that they can take down an animal as big as a buffalo is pretty impressive, too!

For more information about reptiles at Chester Zoo, see www.chesterzoo.org/ our-zoo/animals/

Snappy Clothes Peg Crocodile

3. Glue on some googly eyes.

4. Paint a pattern on your croc’s back.

What you need:

• A wooden clothes peg

• Paint - green, black and any other colours you might like to use

• Two small googly eyes • A green pipe cleaner • White paper or card • An elastic band • A glue stick • Scissors

What to do:

1. Press the peg to open it and wrap an elastic band around the end to keep it open. Paint inside the ‘mouth’ with black paint. Allow to dry and remove the elastic band.

2. Paint your clothes peg green. A hardwearing paint such as acrylic works best. Allow to dry.

5. Cut four strips of white card or paper measuring about 3cm x 0.5cm. Snip some triangles out of each piece to make rows of small jaggy teeth.

6. When your croc’s paint has completely dried, use a glue stick to glue the teeth on to the sides of the ‘jaws’.

7. Cut two lengths of pipe cleaner, about 6cm each. Thread one piece of the pipe cleaner through the hole in the spring of the peg. Glue the other piece at the very back of the jaws. Allow to dry.

8. Trim the pipe cleaners to length to make the legs. Bend the tip of each pipe cleaner forwards to make feet.

Craft by Daisy Fox

Marine Iguana ´Gala pagos Islands, Pacific Ocean

Usambara

Chameleon Tanzania, Africa

© Papilio/Alamy Stock Photo

Wildlife News!

Can you believe it? My annoying little brother Rusty got to write a dinosaur feature this issue but still insists on having a page in my newsletter!

Rhona Reports! N0. 22

And don’t forget about me – Rusty!

JUDE WALKER WALKS!

Eleven-year-old Eco Kid Jude Walker is walking 200 miles to raise awareness of climate change!

He really got into walking during lockdown. His Yorkshire hometown, Hebden Bridge, is surrounded by some of the UK’s most stunning countryside. It’s so great for walks that Jude even wore out his walking shoes! When he had the idea to hoof it to London, he practised with a 10-mile trek every day.

government to introduce a charge on carbon emissions, which cause air pollution. That should encourage industries and organisations to cut down the carbon they emit. Jude hopes it’ll make them use green or renewable alternatives instead.

He’s walking 10 miles a day for his carbon tax walk. Not alone, of course. He’s joined by one of his mums, plus his new dog, and they’ll mostly sleep in a campervan. He’s even meeting and chatting with politicians along the way!

He should arrive at Westminster, London, in mid-August. I’m writing this in early August, so I’ll let you know how he got on next time!

NEWSFLASH!

A man returning home to Peterborough, England, after a few weeks away had a shock. Two thousand wasps had got into his bathroom through an overflow pipe and built a huge nest in his toilet tank!

TINY TIGER TRIPLETS!

He hopes to highlight an online carbon tax petition he wants people to sign. It calls for the

Rain doesn’t stop Jude!

Three endangered Amur tiger cubs were born in Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park back in May. The striped siblings took their first steps outside in late July and started to get playful. Now they’ve had their first health check and vaccinations, and are allowed out every day.

that’s why Rusty has been scoffing all my choccy biscuits again! You’ll spot trees and hedges getting heavy with shiny, colourful, ripening berries and nuts. They’re almost asking animals to eat them!

Also, look out for mushrooms and funky fungi popping up everywhere, on all sorts of things, from tree trunks to cow poo! It’s not just woodlands that come alive with fungi. You may find it in parks and on lawns, too. They have names, too – Nishka, Layla and Aleksander! Those Russian names are a tribute to the native country of this species. I thought you’d like to see them!

NEWSFLASH!

A porcupine is on the loose in a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It’s been seen and photographed –but no wildlife park or pet owner seems to be missing one!

NEWSFLASH!

A baby beaver has been born in Norfolk, England, for the first time in over 600 years!

WILDLIFE WATCH

Most of you will be reading this in September, so what wildlife might you spot as we head into autumn?

Many mammals will be preparing for winter. Watch out for squirrels hunting for food. Maybe you’ll see one stashing nuts underground to return to in the cold season. But

how on Earth do they find them again?

Well, they may bury them somewhere they’ll recognise, perhaps under a big tree. And they’ll look for disturbed soil and sniff for a nutty smell. They can even sniff out nuts if they’re under a layer of snow! Of course, many of those acorns won’t be found and will grow into new trees.

Hedgehogs and dormice will be eating as much as possible, building up fat to live on when they hibernate. Hmm, maybe

These fairy inkcap mushrooms are growing from fungi on a wooden step

Mushrooms aren’t umbrellas for fungi, despite what they look like! They’re what some fungi use to reproduce. When the time’s right, mushrooms release millions of teeny spores – their version of seeds –from under their caps.

September to November is mushroom season here in the UK. But don’t ever eat any you find growing wild – some species are very poisonous!

I like looking for the weirdest, most alienlooking fungi I can find – like yellow brain fungi! Look for it on dead wood, including fallen branches.

and they’re often seen in British waters.

MOTH-SPOTTING!

Many Brits took up mothspotting during last year’s lockdowns and saw lots of rare, amazing-looking ones. In Cheshire, seven species new to the county were recorded, including the beautiful marbled moth. Here’s one!

For some animals, fighting season begins! Fox family units start to break up, with lots of scrapping, squealing and squawking first. And don’t get in the way of any deer fights from late September onwards!

It’s time for stags and bucks to grow antlers and fight rival males for female partners.

NEWSFLASH!

It’s also a busy time for bottlenose dolphins. Their females usually give birth in the summer months,

KESTREL RESCUE!

I bet these kestrel chicks don’t realise how lucky they are. They were rescued from an A320 aircraft’s exhaust at a hangar in the Vale

China says its giant pandas are no longer endangered!

of Glamorgan! Thank goodness engineers spotted them nesting in there before anyone turned the plane’s engine on. But nobody guessed they were kestrels until the RSPCA told them so.

The little chicks hadn’t been fed for days and were saved just in time. Now they’re safe in a bird hospital.

NEWSFLASH!

Cockatoos in Australia have learned how to open rubbish bin lids so they can have a trashy feast!

2020 was also a record year for rare moths migrating here. Ones with names like slender burnished brass and Scar Bank gem turned up.

People also saw some huuuuuuge hawkmoths during this summer’s scorching heatwaves!

I know the biggest moth that ever lived –a mam-moth!

NEWSFLASH!

Rusty

A goose found its injured mate having surgery at a wildlife hospital. It tapped at the door, watching the whole operation, refusing to budge!

© Alamy Stock Photo

© Neil Bowman/Alamy Stock Photo

SOAK UP THIS STORY!

Hi, Rusty fans!

Would you clean yourself with an animal skeleton? Sitting in your bath, scrubbing the dirt off with a handful of bones? Well, it’s what people used to do! Most of today’s bath sponges are made by humans. But in the

past, people used real sea sponges!

Sponges are super-strange creatures with no eyes, heads, brains or mouths. Some can grow as big as a large car and live for over 100 years. They’re animals, not plants – but grown-up ones spend their lives in one spot, never moving. They move even less than I do when a new season of my favourite anime drops on Netflix. (And even I get up to go to the loo every 20 episodes or so!)

So, how were they turned into bath sponges? Well, millions of their living cells would be cut out until only their skeletons were left.

(Their skeletons are like very fine threads, which hold water well.) So, they weren’t alive any more –people were scrubbing themselves with sea creature skeletons!

Well, sponges are in the news right now. An 890-million-year-old sponge fossil has been discovered – and it might be the earliest animal ever found! Now some scientists are wondering if sponges were our planet’s earliest creatures... Rusty

Why don’t you tell our readers who used my lovely new bath sponge to clean their filthy bike, Rusty?

Rhona

HOW MUCH DEEPER WOULD THE SEA BE IF ALL OF US SPONGES WERE TAKEN OUT?

REPTILE SUPERPOWERS!

Snake detects heat with pit organs

actually have SUPERPOWERS!

Some reptiles have a third eye that works like a calendar, others have a special device for ‘seeing’ at night. Chameleons can famously change colour – but do certain snakes have this ability, too? Most lizards can regrow their tails, some can also walk up walls, upside down and even on water – who knew? Even being coldblooded is an energy-saving superpower.

Welcome to the world of shapeshifters, size-tricksters, heat-seekers and skinshedders! Might some reptiles even be the closest thing we have to DRAGONS?

Let’s investigate the SUPERS of the REPTILE WORLD!

Super-sight and light

There are many types of light. And many different ways of ‘seeing’. Humans only feel infrared light as heat – but some snakes can see it…

• A thermal ‘eye’

Vipers, pythons and boas have special receptors on their faces called pit organs. These super-sensitive organs can detect heat coming from a mouse or rabbit, when it’s about one metre away. The pit organ acts as an additional thermal ‘eye’ that constructs images from heat.

Prey emits body heat

When you’re a nocturnal hunter, infrared vision means you can see your warmblooded prey in the dark.

• A third eye – what?!

Some lizards have what’s called a pineal eye on the top of their head, halfway between the other two eyes.

See that white spot on the head of this sand monitor lizard? That’s its pineal eye!

This eye only senses light and darkness. It works like a calendar, monitoring the seasons, sleep and reproduction. Plus, it keeps an eye (get it?) on body temperature (this is called thermoregulation).

We all know reptiles are awesome, right? Well, I discovered they

© Linda Kennedy/Alamy Stock

Photo

Diurnal snakes have an extra adaptation that filters ultraviolet (UV) light like a pair of sunglasses. This means they can see prey more clearly in super-bright light.

Nocturnal snakes don’t need this filter, so they have better night vision for hunting.

Cool dudes and cold-blooded killers

Being cold-blooded means reptiles can go for l o n g stretches of time without food.

The cooler the blood temperature, the lower the metabolism. And a lower metabolism means you need to eat less.

Imagine living in a desert. Baking sun, little water, less food. What do you do?

You WAIT.

For the good times to roll around again! Ambush is a great hunting technique for a cold-blooded killer. Because sitting and waiting for prey means using minimum energy.

Colour-changing moods

Chameleons (all 200 species) are famous for changing their colour but other reptiles have colour-switching superpowers, too.

NB SUNBATHING is NOT cool for humans but it’s SUPER-important for reptiles. It’s necessary for helping to raise their body temperature so they have enough energy. Plus, the sun’s UV rays give them vitamin D.

And it’s not just for camouflage. Temperature control, communication, display, fear or aggression are all reasons for changing. S-s-s-s-snakes…

• The Papuan python goes from olive green to yellow or black when worried.

• Round Island keel-scaled boas change colour s l o w l y over 24 hours, having darker skin during the day to absorb heat.

• Green tree pythons are yellow or red when youngsters. They turn bright green as they mature. From the forest floor to life in the trees, they change colour to blend in.

Green iguana sunbathing on a rock

© Michael D. Kern/naturepl.com

Panther chameleon, Madagascar

Other reptiles have a whole ‘colour language’ thing going on…

• Painted terrapins change colour during mating season to attract mates.

• The central bearded dragon changes colour on different parts of its body. Its back skin darkens to absorb heat, while its neck and beard change colour to ‘message’ pals!

Shedding and regrowing body parts

WHOOPS!

If you pick a lizard up by its very end, you might get left holding the tail. Most lizards have a remarkable ability to shed their tail when attacked. They do it by pulling apart some muscles. There’s no blood loss, the tail neatly falls off along a bone-less fracture (break) line, allowing the lizard to escape.

The discarded body part continues to wiggle violently for a few minutes to confuse the predator Clever!

What’s SUPER-DUPER is that lizards regrow their tail over a few months to a year!

Forget Spider-Man –meet Spider-Lizard

Some lizards can walk on walls and across ceilings.

Gecko toe pads stick to surfaces like Velcro. Even more cool is the fact that they unstick quickly. This allows a gecko to move like ‘Lizard Spider-Man’!

Black spiny-tailed iguana with regrown tail

Green basilisks have earned the nickname Jesus lizards. Why? because they can WALK ON WATER!

How? Their long back toes and fringed feet cover a greater surface area. And they move fast, slapping the water. This creates air pockets that stop them from sinking.

© Ger Bosma/Alamy Stock Photo

© Bence Mate/naturepl.com

© Rosanne Tackaberry/Alamy

Stock Photo

But geckos can run on water, too! A clever combination of light weight, water tension and high speed helps them to stay on the surface.

All snakes can swim, and I reckon the amazing marine iguana is the Aquaman of the ocean…

Now meet ‘Scuba-Lizard!’ Semi-aquatic anole lizards make air bubbles to breathe underwater. They can stay below the surface for up to 18 minutes.

Shape-shifting tricksters

When feeling threatened, puff adders hiss and puff up their bodies to look larger. They do this by inflating their single lung (most snakes only have one lung, to fit in their slim body).

Likewise, a cobra rises up and expands its hood, making it look even more scary In fact, cobras have an unjust reputation – they are actually more cautious than other smaller snake species. (But hey, King Cobra is a great supervillain, right?)

Frilled lizards extend the frill around their neck and head to scare any creatures that invade their territory. The frill is almost as big as the lizard’s length!

Here be dragons?

Dragons don’t exist today, sadly, but could they have existed a long, long time ago?

Pterosaurs, those (now extinct) flying reptiles, were about as close as it gets, but there are a few almost-dragons still around…

BIG: At three metres long and weighing up to 160kg, the Komodo dragon is the world’s biggest lizard. It kills pigs, deer and water buffalo with venomous saliva and razor-sharp teeth!

LOOK-A-LIKE: Dragon snakes have super-fancy scales and certainly look dragon-like.

FLYING: Meet Draco volans, aka the flying dragon. More like a gliding dragon, these little lizards float from tree to tree – up to eight metres – on wings made of skin stretched across extended ribs.

FIRE-BREATHING: If only…

Vocabulary

Discarded: Left behind.

© Matthijs Kuijpers/Alamy Stock Photo

© Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo © Paul

…THE WEIRDEST REPTILES!

Some

reptiles scale new heights of weirdness!

A lizard with two heads?

Spiky, colour-changing thorny devils have a fake head on their neck. It’s really just a lump. When threatened, this Australian lizard takes a bow, dipping its real head between its front legs. That moves the soft false head to where its real one usually is. It’s to fool – or maybe warn off – predators.

Fake

True or False?

Legend says that milk snakes suck milk from sleeping cows’ udders. True or completely and udder-ly false? Answer below!

Shrinking sea lizards!

If we go hungry, we get thinner, but marine iguanas get shorter! If there’s not enough food around, they shrink themselves to become as much as 20% shorter. They need less food and use less energy that way. To do it, they seem to absorb their own bones! They grow bigger again when there’s more food about.

Real

Between those spikes, a network of tiny grooves covers the skin. The small lizard uses these to suck water from anywhere on its body into its mouth. So, if they brush against dew-covered grass or get rained on, they get to drink with their skin!

The reptile that behaves like an accordion!

Fun Fact

If

TRUE OR FALSE:

barns – but they are there to eat rodents, not to drink milk!

False. American farmers do find them in cow

you attack or catch a queen snake, it won’t bite you – it’ll spray you with disgusting smells and pongy poo!

Now for a trio of… SERIOUSLY STRANGE SNAKES!

The spider-tailed horned viper, found in Iran, has a spider-shaped lump on its tail. The snake can make the lump skitter about like a fast-moving spider. Spider-eating birds see it and swoop down for a snack. But when one does, the snake grabs the bird.

Eastern hognose snakes play dead to stay alive! When threatened, they flip on to their backs, open their mouths wide and let their tongues hang out. They look like bad actors, overacting a dramatic death! Lying belly up, they even ooze a stinky substance to smell like they’ve been dead and rotting for some time. It puts a hungry bird or fox off eating them – they hope!

Fun Fact

A group of skinks living in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands have lime-green blood!

Horned lizards have a gross way of defending themselves. They squirt a jet of blood from their eyes straight into their predators’ mouths! (The blood is packed with foul-tasting chemicals, possibly from the poisonous ants they eat.) A lizard can release a third of its total blood supply this way.

I’M DEAD, HONEST!

Madagascar’s leaf-nosed snakes often hang from branches with their heads pointing down. It makes them look like some local plants, which have long, pointed seed pods. Maybe it’s to blend in with them and stay hidden.

© All Canada Photos/Alamy Stock Photo

© Matthijs Kuijpers/Alamy Stock Photo

© John Cancalosi/Alamy Stock Photo

Now let’s meet some… EXTREME REPTILES

…starting with more snakes

Boa constrictors don’t need to bite. They coil so tightly around their prey that it stops the creature’s blood from flowing. The victim passes out, then dies soon after. The snake can sense when its heartbeat stops, then it relaxes its grip. They mostly hunt on land, but also climb trees to find birds.

Western taipans – also called fierce snakes – have the deadliest venom of any snake. They fill their bites with it. But they make a warning display before striking by raising the front of their body in an S shape. They’re quite shy, too. The “fierce” refers to their venom, not their personalities! They live in remote parts of Australia, so humans hardly ever meet them.

SIMON’S SSSSSTUMPER!

Black mambas are Africa’s most feared snakes – and one of the world’s deadliest. But their colours range from grey to dark brown. None are black! Can you work out how they got their name? Answer below.

Never tell a boa constrictor to “get a grip”!

Fun Fact

When a snake climbs a tree, it squeezes the trunk two to five times harder than it needs to!

Small but deadly

The deadliest snake of all may be the sawscaled viper It’s probably killed more humans than every other species combined. But over 80% of victims still survive their bite, even if it’s not treated.

They’re also the fastest land snakes, reaching speeds of 19 kilometres per hour!

The saw-scaled viper lives in several countries in Asia and Africa

SIMON’S SSSSSTUMPER!

The insides of their mouths are black. Did you notice in the photo?

Not too monstrous monster

burst of speed. Although they’re dangerous, alligators rarely kill humans. Crocodiles grow bigger than alligators –up to seven metres long – and are much fiercer. Egyptian Nile crocs and Australian saltwater crocs are the most aggressive

Gila monsters are the USA’s largest native lizards. They’re venomous, with an extremely painful bite – but they’re pretty peaceful. They spend 95% of the time in their underground shelters, only coming out to eat and sunbathe. And they mainly use their venom in defence, giving a warning hiss before biting. But if they do, they clamp down hard with their jaws. Venom in their bottom jaw then flows through their grooved teeth into the victim!

Alligators and crocodiles are ambush predators. They wait until their prey comes close, then attack with a sudden

But remember, none of these reptiles is bad or cruel. They’re just trying to get food and survive, in the way that they’ve evolved to do it!

Watch out for those claws!

An alligator mum giving her babies a ride

Crocodiles’ tails are so strong, they can launch the crocodile out of the water!

Quiz Planet

Rep-tastic Crossword

ACROSS:

3. A group of lizards

6. In which country can you find Komodo dragons in the wild?

8. Which islands are home to the marine iguana? 10. This snake spreads the skin of its neck into a hood to scare off predators

DOWN:

1. Draco volans’s special skill 2. One of the reasons a chameleon might change its colour

4. Which body part can lizards drop off when threatened?

5. Home to about half of the world’s 200 species of chameleons

7. Aka Jesus lizard

9. A very large snake that can swallow a deer

Olympic Games: Team Reptile

With the Tokyo Olympic Games dominating the news this summer, we’ve had sport on our minds. If we were to host the Reptile Olympic Games, which animal would be most likely to win the competitions below? Make your best (educated) guess!

1. Speed climbing A. Panther chameleon B. Tokay gecko C. Marine iguana D. Frilled lizard

2. Swimming: 50m freestyle A. Komodo dragon B. Green basilisk C. Chinese alligator D. Nile crocodile

3. Running: 100m

4. Boxing A. Gila monster B. Green iguana C. Komodo dragon D. Egyptian cobra

Chameleon and fly

Cute iguana on A rock

Over to You

In June’s ‘Tiny Wildlife’ issue, we asked you to create forest mud faces. Thank you to all of you who embraced the messy challenge and sent us your mud-spattered entries!

Congratulations to our five winners!

Ruth, age Eastleigh9,

Charlotte, age 9, London

Josiah, age 6, Crawley

Meet young naturalist and artist, Benjamin Fallow!

Benji is seven years old, and passionate about protecting nature. His favourite things are nature and drawing. He collects nature treasures and has taught his mum, dad, family and friends so much more about nature than they ever knew before! During lockdown 2020, Benji won a national nature writing competition for his age group, Nature on your Doorstep with Lucy McRobert, and was featured on Chris Packham’s Self Isolating Bird Club. If he’s not drawing, Benji’s usually outdoors covered in mud ��

To see more competition entries from our readers, go to: https://www.ecokidsplanet.co.uk/mud-faces

Katie, age 10, Verwood

Thank you so much for sharing your amazing work with us, Benji!

Colourful Chameleo n

For this month’s competition, we’d like you to colour in the drawing of the chameleon below. Use as many vibrant colours as you like! Will your chameleon stand out from its habitat or mysteriously blend in?

If you need an extra copy of the colouring page, you can download it from www.ecokidsplanet.co.uk/colourful-chameleon

Dino Dump is a bit like Uno. You have power cards and can play card combos to get rid of cards quickly and sabotage others. Use cards to throw meteorites, hide under leaves and scoop up poo to get the upper hand on your opponents. To win, you must lose all your Dino Cards as quickly as possible. The last player with cards ends up in the poo! A great card game for children aged 6+. RRP £10