Interesting bits and bobs

[khaleesi]

Save the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard!!:
(There are less than 200 left!)

2012, A Guatemalan Beaded Lizard has hatched at Zoo Atlanta, the second zoo in the world (San Diego Zoo has successfully hatched six beaded lizards), to successfully hatch this critically endangered species in captivity. Zoo Atlanta is the only zoo in the United States that houses a zoological collection of Guatemalan beaded lizards. The hatchling lizard is an important component in the zoo's captive breeding program because its mother is a wild-caught specimen, ensuring the hatchling has diverse genes not yet in the program. The mother was collected in Guatemala in the early 1980s by a herpetologist who used her to describe the species to science. She was sent to Zoo Atlanta in 2000.

It is estimated that there are less than 200 Guatemalan beaded lizards in the wild. It is only found in the Motagua Valley in Guatemala. The lizard has suffered from the effects of habitat loss, illegal trade, and local Guatemalan myths that purport the lizard to have magical powers. The saliva and venom of the Guatemalan beaded lizard are used in a new diabetes drug called Byetta. The lizard spends up to 70 percent of its life underground and feeds on nestling birds, rabbits, and rodents, as well as reptile eggs

 

[khaleesi]

Montanicola Lizard:
(Discovered Lizard Alert!)

In 2012, researchers have discovered a new species of lizard in the Peruvian Andes, whose males sport beautiful colors. The highest-dwelling known species of
the genus Potamites, the new lizard, dubbed Potamites montanicola, was found in forest streams at 1,500 to 2,000 meters (4,900 to 6,500 feet). The species was discovered as apart of a biodiversity monitoring program by COGA, a Peruvian fossil fuel company.

To date the lizard, whose name means "mountain inhabitant", has been found in the Cordillera de Vilcabamba and Apurimac River Valleys, but its range is believe to be fragmented. The new species may be endangered, but "more surveys are necessary in more places to confirm the distribution and population status, the population in the type locality looks healthy, the stream where this population is located looks good too."

The discovery provides more questions than answers, including how the lizard survives in streams significantly colder than its nearest relatives, which are found in the Amazon lowlands. In addition, the researchers believe that the lizard may be nocturnal. It has been found seeking shelter under rocks during the day, but at night it has been observed running and swimming.

 

[khaleesi]

“No, I would not want to live in a world without dragons, as I would not want to live in a world without magic, for that is a world without mystery, and that is a world without faith.”
― R.A. Salvatore, Streams of Silver

The Draco:

Draco
is a genus of agamid lizards that also are known as the Flying Dragons. The ribs and their connecting membrane may be extended to create a wing, the hindlimbs are flattened and wing-like in cross-section, and a small set of flaps on the neck serve as a horizontal stabilizers. Draco are arboreal insectivores. While not capable of powered flight they often obtain lift in the course of their gliding flights. Glides as long as 60m have been recorded, over which the animal loses only 10m in height, which is quite some distance, considering that one of these lizards is only around 20cm long.

 

[khaleesi]

The Great and Mighty Horned Anole:
(possessor of an enchanted sword)

Of all the anoles great and small, near and far, green and brown, one stands out for its combination of elegance, charm, and mystique. I
refer, of course, to the Ecuadorian horned anole, Anolis proboscis, denizen of Andean forests, possessor of an enchanted sword, and all-around lizard of mystery.

The mystery comes in three acts: The first concerned the continued existence of the horned anole. The species was discovered in 1953 and over the next 13 years, another five were found, all male like the first, all from the vicinity of the Ecuadorian town of Mindo. Then, for four decades…nothing. Many feared the species extinct, perhaps a victim of the deforestation that has ravaged so much of the Western side of the Andes. All this changed in 2005 when a group of birdwatchers spied one crossing a road near Mindo. The Horned Anole lives!

 

[khaleesi]

The Reticulate Collared Lizard:

The Reticulate Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus reticulatus) has a beautiful, regular pattern of light scales covering its back. The arrangement of these scales gives it the comm
on name ‘reticulate’, which means net-like. Species in the genus Crotaphytus are known as ‘collared’ lizards due to black markings found around the neck. However, the male reticulate collared lizard has black spots instead of a complete collar and the female either has faint markings or none at all.

The reticulate collared lizard has a restricted range, being found only in southern Texas and northern Mexico in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

 

[gilliesexotics]

Amazing creatures..Thanks for posting .

 

[khaleesi]

Man Hides 44 Lizards in His Pants:

A German man who stuffed 44 small lizards into his underwear before trying to board a flight has been sentenced to prison in New Zealand for plundering the country's protected species.

Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, will spend 14 weeks behind bars and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar fine before being deported to Germany as soon as he is released, District Court Judge Colin Doherty ruled.

Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.

He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.

Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told the court Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of 500,000 New Zealand dollars and six months in prison.

Mr Bodie said the department sought a deterrent sentence for "the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more".

The geckos may have been worth 2,000 euros each on the European market, he noted.

 

[khaleesi]

Have you ever seen an iguana in the water before? Neither have we. But, the Galapagos is home to the world's only iguana which feeds underwater. It tends to hang around on the rocky shore, but also can be found in the mangroves and marshes

 

[khaleesi]

 

[Noella]

The Reticulate Collared Lizard almost looks like a bearded dragon without the spikes.