Creature Feature #393: Komodo Dragon

Reptiles are hard to draw - I always struggle with lizards, and thus I knew this fellow was going to prove to be a challenge. I wanted to do one in perspective, however, have him coming out of the page, and thus I embraced the challenge.

And succeeded, more-or-less.

Komodo Dragons are extremely large lizards, found only on a small number of Indonesian islands, including Komodo. Males can grow more than 3 m long, with females being slightly smaller. He uses his tongue to detect, taste and smell stimuli and can sense carrion from nearly 10 km away. Carrion is his preferred diet, although he is also capable of stalking and ambushing prey. It can take him some time to swallow an entire animal, and to stop him suffocating, he breathes through a small tube under his tongue.

Creature Feature #381: Kingsnake

There are five species, and numerous subspecies, of Kingsnake, all of which are found in North America. Although they resemble the highly venomous coral snake, Kingsnakes kill by constricting, not poison. This is a Scarlet Kingsnake. Kingsnake feed on lizards, rodents, birds and eggs, but are also noted for preying on other snakes - including their venomous relatives. She is immune to the venom of a rattlesnake.

Creature Feature #336: Iguana

The Iguana is a large lizard, inhabiting the forests of Central and South America. He leads an arboreal lifestyle, usually living near water. His diet is predominantly herbivorous, favouring fruit, foliage and flowers. One of his characteristic features is the highly-developed dewlap. This is used to help him regulate his body temperature, and plays a role in courtship and territorial displays. He is also equipped with a white photosensory organ - a parietal eye - on his forehead. This is sensitive to changes in light and dark, and could be used to help locate predators lurking above him. If he senses a threat he will flee, or dive into the water. However, the scream of a raptor will cause him to freeze, relying on his camouflage for protection.

Creature Feature #318: Horned Lizard

The Horned Lizard is sometimes known as the "Horned Toad" due to his blunt snout and squat, toad-like body. He inhabits the dry desert areas of North America. His body is covered in an array of scales, modifed into spines, and he bears 'true' horns on his head. These, combined with his general camouflage, are the first step towards preventing predation. If these measures fail, he will puff up his body to make himself into an unwieldly mouthful. Some species are also capable of squirting blood from their eyeballs as a further deterrent. This not only confuses the predator, but tastes foul to mammals and most will go off in search of an easier mouthful.

Creature Feature #306: Hawksbill Turtle

The Hawksbill Turtle is a critically endangered reptile. She favours tropical coral reefs. Her main diet consists of sea sponges, although she also eats jellyfish, algae and sea anemones.  Every two years, she comes ashore in secluded lagoons to mate. After mating, she hauls herself ashore under cover of darkness, digs a nesting hole with her rear flippers and lays her eggs. This can take many hours, during which she buries them again and returns to the sea. The baby turtles hatch two months later, during the night, and begin the perilous journey to the sea. Any that remain out during daylight are preyed upon by birds and other predators. It takes decades for these youngsters to attain maturity.

Creature Feature #271: Gila Monster

The venomous Gila Monster stalks the southwestern deserts of the United States. Slow-moving and sluggish, he spends much of his life either underground or in rocky shelters, being most active in the early morning or after rain. He does not eat often - 5-10 times per year - and he uses his acute sense of smell to locate eggs or carrion. When he does feed, he gorges himself, swallowing animal prey head-first. His venom is considered more for defence than the capture of prey, and contains a neurotoxin. His bite contains only small amounts, and his bite is not fatal to humans although it is very painful. Once he latches on, it is very difficult to dettach him.

Creature Feature #268: Gharial

The Gharial is a critically endangered crocodilian, characterised by his slender snout. These indicate his diet,  which consists predominantly of fish. Once widespread across the Indian subcontinent, his distribution has now shrunk to a mere 2% of its former range, due to habitat fragmentation and overhunting.  Males do not become sexually mature until they are 13 years old, and develop the lump on the snout, the ghara. This modifies and amplifies their vocalisations, allowing them to be heard nearly a kilometre away. In this manner they call the females, collecting a harem within their territory.

Creature Feature #263: Gecko

Geckos are an Infraorder of lizards, consisting of seven Families and around 1,500 species. This fellow is one of the many species of Day Gecko, who are named for their diurnal lifestyle. Other species are nocturnal. They are characterised by their specialised toe pads, which allow them to climb along vertical and horizontal surfaces - including across ceilings. In many tropical countries they will find their way indoors and prove a welcome addition as they feed on mosquitos and pesky flies. Geckos cannot blink as they lack eyelids; they keep their eyes moist by licking them. They communicate with one another by chirping, a trait unique amongst lizards.

Creature Feature #219: Eyelash Viper

The Eyelash Viper is a venomous pit viper. She comes in an array of colours, from vibrant yellow to brown, green, red and even pink as well as combinations of these colours. Her characteristic feature is her "eyelashes", spiky protrusions that frame her eyes and nostrils. These are thought to break up her outline, providing her with camouflage as she lies in wait for small mammals, frogs, lizards or birds to venture near her. She has been known to wiggle the tip of her tail, luring prey into striking distance. Nocturnal in nature, she inhabits the treetops of tropical forests in Central and South America.

Creature Feature #205: Elongated Tortoise

The Elongated Tortoise is named for his shell, which is twice as long as it is deep. He occurs naturally in Southeast and South Asia where he lives in humid teak forests, but has also found his way into the pet industry. He does not thrive in cold climates, and tortoises transported into Europe and North America will often die unless provided with special indoor care. His diet is predominently vegetarian, although he also eats snails, meat and eggs. In the wild he is endangered, with thousands of tortoises being shipped into Chinese food markets and others being smuggled out and into the pet trade. There is also constant pressure and habitat destruction as humans encroach on his range.

Creature Feature #173: Dragon

There are a number of Dragons inhabiting Australia, a common name given to three different Genera of agamid lizards: the Bearded, the Water and this fellow - the Forest (the Boyd's Forest, to be precise). You can find him in the rainforests of Northern Queensland (we found three on our night amble in the Daintree!) where he clings to the trunks or branches of trees. Here he waits for his prey - primarily invertebrates - to venture past. One of his favoured foods is earthworms, and for these he will descend from his lofty perch and amble along the forest floor. Unlike most lizards, he does not bask in the sun and prefers to allow his body temperature to fluctuate with that of the air - although being in Queensland, it's pretty humid and warm all of the time.

Creature Feature #160: Diamondback Rattlesnake

The Western and Eastern Diamondback are venomous vipers found across the USA. Inept at climbing, they are the heaviest of their kind, with the Eastern species weighing in at up to 15 kilograms and measuring up to 2.4 metres long. The Eastern inhabits woodland and prairies, whereas the Western favours the desert. During the night he shelters underground in gopher or tortoise burrows, emerging with the sun to bask and lie in wait for prey to wander by. The rattle is a series of interlocking kerotin segments, modified from the scales on the tail. This can be "shaken" by the contraction of special muscles to create a rattling noise. Diamondbacks do not always rattle before they strike, it is more of a warning to anything that is too large for them to eat that may be a potential danger to the snake.

Creature Feature #138: Crocodile

The Crocodile is a large, aquatic reptile who makes her home in the tropics. She is a strict carnifore, feasting on fish, birds and mammals. The Saltwater Crocodile is the largest living reptile and also the most aggressive. She can be found in SouthEast Asia and Northern Australia. Found in both saltwater and brackish estuaries she is an apex predator and will eat almost any creature that comes into reach of her powerful jaws.

Creature Feature #118: Collared Lizard

There are several species of Collared Lizard spread across the deserts of North America and down through Mexico. The name is derived from their distinctive black and white "collar". This fellow is the "Dickerson's" species. Fast and agile, when running, he will often stand upright. His bright blue colouration makes him rather obvious from a distance, and thus more prone to predation. His bright colours might be an indication of his strength ("I'm so blue and obvious to predators, yet I am still alive, therefore I am strong and thus have good mate potential") and if other males come near he will arch his back, puff out his sides and bob up and down, doing "push-ups". It the intruder fails to be intimidated, he may then chase him off.  Females, on the other hand, are a duller colour. Lizards use colour to communicate, with the female gaining orange blotches when she is receptive to mating.

Creature Feature #112: Cobra

The Spectacled Cobra is responsible for causing the most snake bite injuries (including deaths) within her range of the Indian subcontinent.  Her venom is neurotoxic and paralyses the body, which can result in respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. When threatened, she raises the front of her body and flattens her neck into the characteristic cobra "hood". This hood has a pattern of spots on the back that resemble eyes and give her the "spectacled" moniker. She was popular with snake-charmers, as the swaying motion she makes when roused can appear a little like hypnotic dancing. She is, in fact, deaf to the music but follows the movement of the pipe and reacts to the tapping of the Charmer's feet.

Creature Feature #91: Chameleon

The Chameleon is a colourful lizard found in warm environs - from deserts to rainforest. There are over 150 species ranging in length from 15 mm to 685mm. Males are often adorned with helmets, horns and in general, are more ornamental than the females. The Chameleon is famed for his colour changing abilities, which are linked to environment - for camouflage purposes, but also visually declare his emotion and act as a social signal to other individuals. He is a slow moving insectivore, with his five toes fused into two groups enabling him to clamp onto the branches. His eye-lids are joined, allowing only a small pinhole of eye to see through.  Both eyes can rotate independently, and he uses these to hone in on his prey before whipping out his tongue and gripping it.

Creature Feature #76: Caiman

Caiman are small to medium sized crocodylians that make their home in Central and South America. There are several extant species. Her diet consists predominently of fish, including pirahna, but the occasional terrestrial vertebrate or large insect is taken and devoured. She can normally be found in mangrove swamps or rivers, lurking and waiting for her prey. When it comes time to breed, she will come ashore and lay between ten to fifty eggs in a nest she has constructed from vegetation. As this vegetation decays, it produces heat and incubates the eggs. The temperature of the eggs determines the gender of the offspring, with females being produced at 32 degrees celsius or higher, and males at lower temperatures. Mothers are very protective and will carry their youngsters down to the water.

Creature Feature #66: Boomslang

With his large eyes and vibrant green scales, the Boomslang is an attractive tree snake. The female tends to be browner in colouration. His bite is venomous, containing a hemotoxin which disables the blood clotting process. The effect of this is slow, but can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness and death. However, he is generally timid and will not bite unless provoked. He spends much of his time crawling through the trees and eating bird’s eggs, small mammals and anything he can swallow whole. In cooler months, he will occasionally hibernate in a weaver’s bird nest.

Creature Feature #49: Basilisk

Taking its name from the mythological monster, the Basilisk is also sometimes nicknamed the “Jesus lizard”. It startled, it will take off, running upright and actually sprint across the surface of water. Due to its large feet and flaps of skin along the toes, when he is moving fast he can slap his feet down in a manner that creates an air pocket, pushing the water out of the way. He then moves his foot back, propelling himself forward, before bringing his foot up to repeat the procedure. This is effective against some terrestrial predators, but he must always be wary of aquatic ones. Young, or small, Basilisks can manage ten to twenty metres, whereas the heavier adults will sink after only one or two. Once submerged, he will then continue to swim away from the predator.

Creature Feature #39: Agama

The  Agama lizard is found in sub-Saharan Africa, where he spends his days basking in the sun or climbing rocks or walls in search of insects. He is highly territorial and once he has defined his domain he will protect it from other males by confronting them, nodding vigorously, dancing around them and clashing tails until the intruder is forced away. He does not mind if females wander through, however.

Most of the year he is a rather dull brown, but he "dresses up" for the breeding season in a fine skin of orange and blue. To further attract the attentions of females, he does push-ups.

(But hadn't you finished "A", I hear you cry? Well, yes, I had, but due to an unfortunate goof-up I needed another critter. So, here he is!)