Today is Reptile Awareness Day. 10 things you might not know about reptiles:
There are about 12,000 species of reptiles living on the planet today. They are found on every continent except Antarctica.
There are four basic varieties of reptile: Turtles, known by their slow metabolisms and protective shells; squamates, which includes Snakes and lizards, crocodilians, the closest living relatives of both modern Birds and Dinosaurs; and tuataras, which are only found on a few remote islands of New Zealand.
Reptiles are cold blooded, or ectothermic, which means they get their body heat from external sources. They get warm by basking in the Sun and cool off by seeking Water and shade. The advantage of this is that reptiles don’t need to eat as much as comparably sized birds and mammals. The disadvantage is that they can’t sustain a consistently high level of activity, especially at night.
The largest reptile in the world is the Australian Crocodile, also known as the Saltwater or Estuarine Crocodile, the adults grow to 3 to 5 metres in length.
The smallest reptile in the world was only discovered in Madagascar in 2021. It’s a chameleon called Brookesia nana. It is only 13.5mm in body length (tail not included) and is as small as a sunflower seed. Although it’s a chameleon, it can’t change colour.
The sex of an embryo in the egg can be determined by the outside temperature in some reptiles.
Reptiles first appear in the fossil record 315 million years ago. They evolved from amphibians between 400 and 300 million years ago.
Their scaly skin allowed them to move away from the water without drying out.
Not many reptiles are vegetarian. The only herbivorous reptiles are turtles and Iguanas.
Reptiles are more cognitively advanced than Fish and amphibians, about on an intellectual par with birds, but nowhere near as clever as the average mammal. The exception is crocodilians. They have rudimentary social skills.
NEW!!
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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