The largest living reptile and most aggressive of all crocodiles, the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. An opportunistic hypercarnivorous apex predator, it ambushes its prey, then drowns and swallows it whole. Males can grow to a length of up to 6.3 m (21 ft) and weigh up to 1,300 kg (2,900 lb).
Herpetology is the branch of zoology which deals with the study of reptiles and amphibians. It deals with their behaviors, geographic ranges, physiologies, development, and genetics. Many herpetologists focus on conservation of these species, while others use them to assess overall environmental conditions in a particular area.
A chameleon's tongues can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in a hundredth of a second, about 200 times faster than the fastest car. The fastest chameleon tongue belongs to the Rosette-nosed Pygmy Chameleon, which can shoot its tongue more than twice the length of its body at about 8,500 feet per second (5,795 mph).
It used to be believed that these lizards had various strains of bacteria in their saliva that killed prey, but this theory has been discredited. In 2009, MRI scans of a preserved skull showed the presence of two glands in the lower jaw. Researchers extracted one of these glands from the head of a terminally ill dragon in the Singapore Zoological Gardens, and found it secreted several different toxic proteins. The known functions of these proteins include inhibition of blood clotting, lowering of blood pressure, muscle paralysis, and the induction of hypothermia, leading to shock and loss of consciousness in envenomated prey.
A snake's digestive system can't dissolve its prey's hair, feathers, and claws. The indigestible material is compacted into a pellet, which is then regurgitated.
At temperatures above 93 °F or 34 °C, an alligator egg will be born as a male. When the temperature stays below 86 °F or 30 °C, it will be born female. If it stays in the range in between, it could go either way.
It might sound like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, but iguanas actually have three eyes! Their third eye, which resembles a scale on the top of their heads, is called the parietal eye. This organ is sensitive to changes in illumination, and scientists believe the lizards use it as a sort of sun-calibrated compass to steer by the sun.
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