Do you know that a rattlesnake can
still bite after it is dead? How about why you will never see a
crocodile stick its tongue out at you, or why turtles do not need
to see a dentist? You can find the answer below as well as some
other amazing facts that you might not have known about reptiles
and amphibians:
1. Antarctica is the only continent
that has no reptiles or snakes.
2. Wasps and Bees kill approximately
four times as many people in the United States each year than snakes.
3. A snake living at the London
Zoo was once fitted with a glass eye.
4. Anacondas are not only the
world's largest snake, they are also one of the few species that
give birth live. Females give birth to four to eighty young every
year.
5. A rattlesnake is capable
of striking for up to an hour after its death. Studies done by the
California Academy Sciences in San Francisco have proven that the
reflexes, possibly triggered by infrared sensors in the snake, are
still active in the snake. Numerous cases have occurred where people
have been bitten after decapitating or shooting the snake numerous
times.
6. A Basilisk lizard is very
crafty about protecting itself from predators while it is sleeping.
It usually chooses to sleep at the far end of a small branch that
is hanging over a pond or lake. If a snake tries to crawl down the
branch to grab it, the additional weight will cause the branch to
move and shake the Basilisk safely off into the water.
7. A chameleon's color change
is caused by its emotion, as well as light and temperature, and
not by its background.
8. Chameleons are capable of
moving and focusing their eyes separately. This gives the ability
to look in two different directions at the same time and focus on
two separate objects.
9. A chameleon's tongue is
at least as long as its body and capable of stretching to a length
more than three times its body length to capture food. When it sees
its prey, the chameleon's tongue is catapulted out of its mouth
at super speed and caught with the sticky tip of its tongue.
10. Crocodiles swallow large
stones that remain in the stomachs. The stones are used to help
them digest their food as well as used as a ballast to help them
dive deeper.
11. Both alligators and crocodiles
will regrow new teeth to replace ones that are lost. During its
lifetime, a crocodile will usually replace its teeth more than forty
times.
12. The tongue of a crocodile
is attached to the roof of his mouth, making him incapable of sticking
his tongue out.
13. While hosting Lorne Greene's
Wild Kingdom, Greene was bitten by an alligator and lost one of
his nipples.
14. The most poisonous reptile
in the world is not a snake, but a frog. One golden poison arrow
frog has enough poison in its system to kill ten to twenty humans.
15. The deadliest snake is
not the most poisonous snake. Although the black mamba is far more
poisonous, the Asian Cobra kills more people on average.
16. Although frogs are known
for their jumping skills, some frogs have also developed the ability
to fly. In actuality, these Southeast Asian frogs have flaps of
skin between their toes that enable them to glide.
17. The North American wood
frog survives winters by freezing. When the temperature drops, the
frog is capable of surrounding its organs with water that freezes.
During this time, its heart stops beating, it stops breathing, and
its kidneys shut down. The frog can stay in this suspended animation
for months. When spring comes, the frog begins to thaw and is fully
functional within ten hours.
18. During breeding, a male
Surinam toad attaches the eggs to the back of the female. The eggs
are then absorbed by the spongy dorsal skin. Each egg is embedded
into its own honeycomb-like chamber on the toad's back. They remain
there for up to twenty weeks before they emerge by pushing through
their mother's skin and emerging fully metamorphosed frogs.
19. Turtles, toads, and tortoises
do not have teeth. Some frogs are also toothless, but most have
small cone teeth called maxillary teeth.
20. The "horned toad"
is not a toad. It is not even a frog, it is a lizard. It is important
to get it right, since some horned lizards are capable of squirting
blood from its eyes when it is angry.
21. The bullfrog is believed
to be the only animal that never sleeps or even profoundly rests.
If you have ever tried to sleep next to a pond, this fact does not
seem that unbelievable.
So, now you know why it is safer to
hang around toads than rattlesnakes-even dead rattlesnakes. Just
make sure you stay away from frogs.- Darcy Logan
my email- nel.watson@gmail
wat would u do?
good for my science cl!@#$$