Both dinosaurs and lizards are reptiles. But for some reason the lizards managed to survive in our harsh world, and the dinosaurs were not smart enough for this. However, some people were still lucky, and now we will tell you about them, as well as about almost real dragons (which also miraculously managed to transfer from ancient legends to the present).
Spikes on the back
There are very few Tuatars left in the world, but even this fact is unlikely to attract the attention of a common man in the street. After all, the tuatara is an ordinary lizard, rather large, inconspicuous in color. Lost in battle or in panic, the tail can grow back, like any other representative of this suborder. She also has thorns on her back (by the way, “tuatara” is translated from the Maori language as “thorns on the back”). All?
But no. Firstly, the Tuatara is not a lizard at all, but, one might say, a small dinosaur that miraculously survived, practically unchanged over 200 million years of existence.
The fact that the Tuatars did not change for so long is confirmed by the finds of the skeletons of their long-dead relatives, which are really 200 million years old. As befits dinosaurs, tuatars have rather serious teeth that can bite off a bird's head, and their babies are additionally equipped with … beaks, with which tuataras at birth break through the shell to get out. Subsequently, the beak simply falls out like baby teeth.
Tuatars also have a third eye, located on the vertex between two normal eyes. The meaning of the third eye has not been clarified. It is only known that it functions (reacts to stimuli) in young tuatars, but by six months it is almost completely overgrown with scales, and it becomes almost invisible. So much for an "ordinary" lizard.
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Legless and bipedal horror stories
The Teiu or Teiid family, which includes a great many genera, lives only in the Western Hemisphere, and it is extremely diverse. Along with their "classic" counterparts with a long body and five-fingered limbs, there are species in which the paws are almost completely atrophied and are either completely invisible or completely absent. In such theyu, the body is much longer, from a distance they look like snakes and even move, wriggling like a snake. And some lizards, deprived of the pleasure of running, came up with their own, original way of movement: they learned to make short jumps, pushing off the ground with sharp springy movements of their tail. In this case, the lizard, the total length of which does not exceed 10-12 centimeters, overcomes a path three times longer than itself.
Those whom nature has spared, keeping their full paws, use this gift to the maximum. Theia is extremely difficult to catch. Not only can these lizards, jumping off the spot, immediately develop their maximum speed, they are also able to abruptly change the direction of movement on the run. This happens so quickly that the predator chasing theia simply does not have time to figure out where the prey has gone and runs ahead a few more meters by inertia. If things are really bad and the enemy is not lagging behind, then the process of running away takes a new, unexpected turn: theia, without stopping, raises the upper part of the body and begins to run on only its hind legs, and the speed of movement increases so much that now no one will catch up with her. … This run looks extremely amusing, but few people have ever watched it live. When theia wants to disappear from your field of vision, she will do it so quickly that your eyes won't even see anything. I’ve just been here, lo and behold, but no longer, I ran away.
Red-eyed crocodile skink
The red-eyed crocodile skink is perhaps the most uncommunicative creature on the planet. This is a real lone philosopher who prefers a warm, quiet and cramped hole to cheerful gulbis and avoids meeting anyone, with the exception of snails, larvae and others that serve as food for the skink.
A frightened skink (and any meeting with an outsider evokes this very reaction in him), if he does not have time to escape, then immediately freezes like a statue, so that he is mistaken for dead and does not climb into the soul. He does not trust anyone and will, as long as he has patience, pretend to be a corpse, even if he is taken in his arms.
Skinks belong to lizards, but the red-eyed skink was called "crocodile" for a reason. With his armor over the skin, he really looks like a very small (up to 20 centimeters) but a real alligator.
If you scare the skink, but still give him the opportunity to hide, then after a while you will hear rather disgusting, grinding sounds from the direction of his shelter. With this "song" the little crocodile wants to tell you that from meeting you he has just gone through severe stress and is in a state of deep depression.
Agamas - companions of the colonists
In contrast to the hysterical red-eyed sociopath described above, lizards of the agama subfamily, which are even characteristically called colonists' agamas, can serve as a living example of open and direct love for people.
The agamas of the colonists, unlike their companions, do not like souls in people. As soon as this lizard is discovered, say, in a deep forest of settlers, it immediately arranges its dwelling in the walls of their huts and no longer part with people. Where the colonists migrate, the agamas also move there. They are like sparrows - the city is full, but you will not find it in the forest.
People with the presence of agamas have long come to terms. Lizards are harmless, non-poisonous, very beautiful and quite useful. Indeed, in the process of silently climbing walls and ceilings, agamas slowly but systematically exterminate all sorts of annoying insects, which is only on hand for the inhabitants of houses.
Almost a dragon
By the way, if you want to get acquainted with an almost real, living dragon, then one of the varieties of agama lizards most closely fits this concept. However, we warn you right away that this lizard is more of a dragon model. And as with any model, not all functions of a "real" dragon work for it.
So, an agamic lizard or a flying dragon (as if there are non-volatile dragons - the dragonologists snort mockingly) is a reptile with a narrow body 20-40 centimeters long, painted in a modest camouflage green with gray color.
Habitat: constantly lives in the tropics. Occupation: sitting in the trees. Yes, flying dragons are not at all one of those vulgar lizards that constantly dart underfoot, forever losing their tails, and exterminate insects flying into dwellings for the benefit of humanity. Dragons decorously sit on the tops of tropical palm trees, merging with the environment, and vigilantly look out for prey (usually the same insects and larvae, but do not hesitate to bird eggs). Having found a worthy target, the agama takes off, flaps its wings (here! Finally, at least something from the dragon), and begins to glide softly and silently, skillfully changing the direction of flight and even altitude if necessary. In this manner, the agama lizard is able to cover a distance of up to 60 meters, which, you see, is very good for a "model".
Unlike the modestly painted body, the dragon's wings look unusual and attractive. They are all covered with bright spots and stripes, can be intense yellow or blue, or shimmer with juicy shades of green and purple. But the dragon is not capable of flapping these wings - it can only plan. The agama lizard does not even have the notorious "flamethrower", but I think that this is for the best - we still lacked tropical fires.
Author: Konstantin Fedorov
