The False Water Cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas) is a venomous colubrid snake. It is not related to the cobra, but it can flatten its neck to make it look larger, just as a cobra does. It does not rear up like a cobra. It is also known as the Brazilian Smooth Snake.
The False Water Cobra is olive-green or brown with dark spots and bands. It has large eyes with circular pupils. Its colour becomes darker towards its tail. It has good vision. It has rear fangs. Its tongue is black.
The Levant Blunt-Nosed Viper (Macrovipera lebetina obtusa) is a large endangered venomous snake, and an viperid reptile.
The Levant Blunt-Nosed Viper has light-grey and dark-grey scales edged with white. It has a broad, triangular head, and a rounded, blunt nose (snout). It has a faint pattern on its scales.
The European Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus apodus) is a reptile. It is also called the Sheltopusik and the Giant Russian Legless Lizard.
The European Glass Lizard is legless – it has no legs, but it is not a snake. Actually, there are two knobs (2mm in length that are undeveloped legs. It has eyelids (and snakes do not have eyelids). It is brown to olive-green in colour. It has a long tail that can grow back (regenerate) if it falls off.
The Monocled Cobra (Naja kaouthia) is a venomous snake, and a reptile. It has an O-shaped monocellate hood pattern, which is different from the spectacled pattern of the Indian Cobra.
The Monocled Cobra may be brown, yellow, grey, blackish, or albino, with or without banded markings. It becomes paler as it ages. It has a black spot on each side of its hooded head. It has a pair of fixed anterior (front) fangs.
The Taylor’s Cantil (Agkistrodon tylori) is a venomous snake and a reptile. It is related to a pit viper. It is also known as the Ornate Cantil.
The Taylor’s Cantil has a thick dark-brown to black body with white, orange, or yellow bands. It also has white stripes with orange or yellow along both sides of its head and mouth. Its head is triangular. It has long, hinged fangs.
The Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor) is an agamid reptile. It is in the family of Agama Lizards. It is also known as the Oriental Garden Lizard and the Eastern Garden Lizard.
The Changeable Lizard ranges in colour from light-brown to greyish. It has a short crest above the neck with small spines, which continue to the tail. There are light-grey lines radiating from its eyes. Like chameleons, the Changeable Lizard can move its eyes in different directions.
Its fourth toe on the hind (back) leg is longer than the other toes. The male has swollen cheeks and, when it is mating season, its head turns bright orange and its throat turns black.
The Yellow-Headed Water Monitor (Varanus cumingi) is a large lizard, and a reptile. It is also known as the Philippine Water Monitor, the Mindanao Water Monitor, or the Cuming’s Water Monitor.
The Yellow-Headed Water Monitor is yellow with dark-brown or black markings. Its head is often all yellow with only a few markings. Its scales are six-sided hexagons. It has a large mouth, large nostrils, and dark orange-brown eyes. Its feet have five toes with sharp claws.
The Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor) is a large, non-venomous colubrid snake and a reptile. It is also known as the Common Boa or the Red-Tailed Boa. It is a boid, pronounced bo-id.
The Boa Constrictor has a thick, heavy body. The pattern on its body is distinctive and varied. It is generally brown, grey, cream, or reddish-brown.
The Rio Fuerte Beaded Lizard (Heloderma horridum exasperatum) is a venomous reptile. It is also called the Mexican Beaded Lizard. It is related to the Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum).
The Rio Fuerte Beaded Lizard is blackish with yellowish bands. It has a stocky body with a broad head. Its scales are small and look like beads. It has a short tail. It has a pink, forked tongue. Unlike other lizards, if it loses its tail, it does not grow back.
The Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) is a reptile. It is also known as the African Dwarf Crocodile, the Broad-Snouted Crocodile, or the Bony Crocodile.
The Dwarf Crocodile is dark on its back and sides. Its underbelly is yellowish with black patches. It is heavily armoured around its neck, back, and tail. The back of its neck has four large, shield-like scales. It has a blunt, short snout (nose).
The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) is a venomous snake and a reptile. It is also known as the Texas Diamond-Back.
The Western Diamondback Rattlesnakeis dusty grey-brown with dark-grey and white markings on its body. Its tail has 2-8 black bands. Its belly is cream to brownish without markings. It has large fangs.
The Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) is a venomous lizard and a reptile.
The Gila Monster is a stocky, slow-moving lizard. It has dark black-brown scales wth pink, yellow, or orange markings. It has a rounded snout (nose). It has short legs and feet, with sharp claws.
The Round Island Skink (Leiolopisma telfairii) is a lizard and a reptile. It is also known as Telfair’s Skink.
The Round Island Skink is iridescent brownish-grey with dark-brown spots. Its body is long and cylindrical. It has short legs.
Its tail can drop off to escape capture, and the tail will re-grow (regenerate).
The Annam Leaf Turtle (Mauremys annamensis) is a small, rare reptile in the chelonian family of tortoises, turtles, and terrapins. It is also known as the Vietnamese Pond Turtle. It is actually a terrapin, and not a turtle, because it does not have flippers. It lives some of the time on land and some of the time in water. It has webbed toes (instead of flippers) to enable it to swim in water and walk on land.
The Annam Leaf Turtle has a dark-brown flattish carapace (upper shell) and a yellow-orange plastron (lower shell) with a black blotch on each scale. The scale is called a scute. It has a wide head with a pale-yellow stripe from its nostrils, through its eyes, and along its neck.
The Blue Tree Monitor (Varanus macraei) is an arboreal lizard and a reptile. It is also known as the Blue-Spotted Tree Monitor.
The Blue Tree Monitor is black with scattered blue scales. The tip of its nose is light-blue and its lower jaw is white with green scales along its neck, forming a V-shaped pattern. Its legs are spotted with turquoise eye-spots, called ocelli. Its throat is light with dark spots.
Continue reading “CREATURE FEATURE: Blue Tree Monitor Lizard”
What are the similarities between the Burmese Python and the Rock Python?
The Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) and the Rock Python (Python sebae) are both non-venomous constrictor snakes (they squeeze their prey to death).
The Burmese Python and the Rock Python are both oviparous (egg-laying) reptiles.
The Burmese Python and the Rock Python are both dark-coloured with brown markings on their back.
Continue reading “What are the similarities between the Burmese Python and the Rock Python?”
The Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) is a non-venomous constrictor snake and a reptile.
The Burmese Python is a dark-coloured snake with many brown markings on its back. It has a clearly defined large head with dark eyes. It can also be albino (no pigmentation) or leucistic (partial pigmentation), and can look caramel, whitish, or yellowish. Albino pythons have pink eyes, but leucistic pythons have brown eyes.
What are the similarities between the Jungle Carpet Python and the Northwestern Carpet Python?
The Jungle Carpet Python (Morelia spilota cheynei) and the Northwestern Carpet Python (Moelia spilota variegata) are both non-venomous constrictor snakes (they squeeze their prey to death).
The Jungle Carpet Python and the Northwestern Carpet Python are both oviparous (egg-laying) reptiles.
The Jungle Carpet Python (Morelia spilota cheynei) is a non-venomous constrictor snake, and a reptile.
The Jungle Carpet Python has bright or pale yellow and black markings in regular stripes or arrow-head shapes. Its underbelly is yellowish.
The Northwestern Carpet Python (Morelia spilota variegata) is a non-venomous constrictor snake, and a reptile. It is also known as the Darwin Python or the Diamond Python.
The Northwestern Carpet Python is creamy-beige or brown with blackish or grey blotches, cross-bands or stripes, or a combination of patterns. It has yellow flower-type or irregular patterns in each band of markings. Its main colour and markings can be varied, in yellow, gold, rust, or grey.