Tag archives for Lizards
Posted by Is that a snake? Not quite! It’s a newly-discovered species of legless lizard. This is the first legless lizard to be discovered in Southeast Asia, but there are about 200 species of legless lizards found around the world. Although they look like snakes, these animals have external ears like other lizards. Scientists think that snakes evolved from legless lizards.
This lizard is also blind and probably doesn’t need to see since they live underground. Legs and eyes “are simply a waste of energy when you’re working your way through underground tunnels,” says biologist Jenny Daltry of Fauna & Flora International.
Read more about the legless lizards on National Geographic News.
Get the facts on reptiles and other animals on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph courtesy Thy Neang et al, Zootaxa/Flora & Fauna International
The votes have been counted, and the name for the National Geographic Museum’s gecko has been chosen–Gripper! Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll.
Get gecko facts in the Creature Feature on National Geographic Kids.
Want to visit the gecko? Visit the National Geographic Museum’s Geckos: Tails to Toepads gecko exhibit, which will be open from September 24, 2010 to January 5, 2011.
Print out a gecko mask and coloring pages on National Geographic Little Kids.
Photo courtesy Eugene Green
A new exhibit opens at the National Geographic Museum today in Washington, D.C. The exhibit, Geckos: Tails to Toepads, features more than 70 live geckos from 18 different species. The visiting geckos arrived this week in plastic storage containers, packed in a large cooler for safety during their transport.
The geckos in the exhibit come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and different species have different personalities. Watch this behind-the-scenes video of a tokay gecko being released into its enclosure by zookeeper Colin Walker.
The geckos will be at National Geographic Headquarters through January 5, 2011.
Learn about the exhibit on the National Geographic Museum webpage.
Get the facts on geckos in the Creature Feature.
See more photos of the geckos featured in the exhibit on Nat Geo News Watch.
Photographs by Lyssa White
The National Geographic Museum staff purchased a crested gecko in early August. As yet, we don’t know if it’s a male or female, and it doesn’t have a name. That’s where you come in! Visit http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/ and scroll down to see the poll and vote for your favorite gecko name.
The gecko will be used for educational demonstrations during the upcoming exhibition, Geckos: Tails to Toepads. “It is a lot of fun having an office pet,” said Elena Guarinello, National Geographic Museum program manager . “During meetings we can see the gecko hunting crickets or warming itself under the terrarium lights. Every morning I start my workday by spritzing water around the terrarium both to help with the humidity and to create droplets on the leaves and glass for the gecko to drink. I also hold it for about five minutes each morning. The gecko was skittish at first but after about three weeks it calmed down and will now spend about five minutes crawling from one of my hands to the other. Sometimes it will even hang upside from one of my fingers!”
Get gecko facts in the Creature Feature on National Geographic Kids.
Want to visit the gecko? Visit the National Geographic Museum’s Geckos:Tails to Toepads gecko exhibit, which will be open from September 24, 2010 to January 5, 2011.
Print out a gecko mask and coloring pages on National Geographic Little Kids.
Photo courtesy Elena Guarinello
A new study predicts that one out of every five lizard species will be extinct by 2080 if global warming continues. When it gets too hot to be in the sun, lizards must hide in the shade and rest, because they are cold-blooded animals and can’t adjust their body temperature. If the Earth’s temperature gets warmer, lizards will spend more time hiding in the shade and less time hunting or laying eggs. Warmer temperatures may mean that lizards starve to death.
Read more about the study on National Geographic News.
Watch a video of “flying” lizards on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph courtesy Ignacio de la Riva
Photograph by Gabriele Gentile
Scientists have discovered a new iguana species! These iguanas are unusual because they have pink skin.
The pink iguanas only live on the Wolf volcano, located on the Galápagos island of Isabela, off the coast of Ecuador. The future of this species is also in question. Their population is quite small. Scientists think that cats introduced to the island may be eating the baby iguanas.
Learn more about this discovery on National Geographic News.
See photos of other Ecuadorian animals in the Photo Gallery.
Photograph courtesy Karin Jaeger (Medical University of Vienna, Austria)
A new study says that our hair is related to reptile claws. Hair is made from a protein called keratin. Findings suggests that modern birds, reptiles, and mammals–as well as dinosaurs–shared an early common reptilian ancestor that had claws built from keratin more than 300 million years ago. Keratin evolved into strands of hair only in mammals.
Read more on National Geographic News.
