An Indonesian zoo is welcoming the arrival of 32 newborn Komodo dragons.
A zoo spokesman said the endangered lizards, believed to number less than 4,000 in the wild, all hatched in the last two weeks and 14 eggs are still under observation.
He calls it the Komodo's most successful breeding year ever at the zoo.
The giant reptiles first arrived in the early 1980s, but the new births brought their total from 34 to 66.
The Komodo dragon can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh as much as 150 pounds. They have a bite that can be deadly and can only be found in the wild on the eastern Indonesian islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca.
SourcePhoto credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Lacking eyelids and true eyelashes, a New Caledonian crested gecko licks its eyeballs to keep them moist.
—Photograph by Julie Larsen Maher/WCS
Zoological Society of San Diego
Henry the Tuatara, regarded as the last of the dinosaurs, will become a father for the first time in 40 years at the ripe old age of 111.
The indigenous New Zealand reptile - who is regarded as one of the last living descendants of the dinosaurs - has mated with Mildred, a youngster aged between 70 and 80.
The pair produced 12 eggs in mid-July after mating earlier this year at the Southland Museum on New Zealand's South Island, Tuatara curator Lindsay Hazley said.
Tuatara are the lizard-like last descendants of a species of reptile that walked the earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago, zoologists say.
Henry has lived at the Southland Museum's special enclosure for Tuatara since 1970 and had shown no interest in sex until he recently had a cancerous growth removed from his genitals.
He is now enjoying the company of three females and might breed again next March, Hazley said.
"With these guys, foreplay might take years. One has to be patient," he said.
Source:
Daily Mail
The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle. It is one of the oldest mystical symbols in the world. The serpent or dragon appears in Aztec, Middle East, and Native American mythologies, among others. (from
Wikipedia)
xenmate at
a near life experience has discovered the REAL ouroboros:
This is an Armadillo Lizard, which, if frightened, will grab its tail in its mouth and roll into a ball.
Look how cute and little they are:
