Fat snake. Unique facts from the history and nature of the Crimea. Southern Clam Lover
Taxonomic affiliation: Class - Reptiles (Reptilia), series - Lizards (Sauria), family - Spindles (Anguidae). The only representative of the genus. The species includes 2 subspecies; P. a. lives in Ukraine. apodus (Pallas, 1775). Previously, the species was assigned to the genus Ophisaurus Daudin, 1803.
Conservation status: Vanishing.
The range of the species and its distribution in Ukraine: From the Balkan Peninsula to the south. Kazakhstan and Iran. In Ukraine, lives only in the Crimea, where it inhabits the lowlands of the west. parts of the Crimean Mountains (the south coast of Crimea and the village of the macroslope of the mountains to the valley of the Alma River up to a height of 500-700 m above sea level), with. and east. coast of the Kerch Peninsula. It was also observed in the extreme west of the Tarkhankut Peninsula.
Number and reasons for its change In the south-west part of the Crimean Mountains and in the Kerch Sea of Azov, the yellowfin still retained a high population (in some places up to 7-15 individuals per 1 km of the route), but usually the population density does not exceed 0.2-0.5 ind./km. Mediterranean relic near the village. the borders of the range, is especially vulnerable due to the late onset of puberty and the low survival rate of young animals.
Reasons for the change in numbers: Destruction of biotopes (especially with continuous development), destruction by humans, mass death on roads.
Features of biology and scientific significance: Active from late February - late March to September-November. In dry years, hibernation is possible. Vaults - voids under stones and roots of bushes, holes of rodents. It feeds on large insects (coleoptera, orthoptera), mollusks, crustaceans, scolopendra, less often small vertebrates. Mating occurs in April-May. The only clutch of 4-10 eggs is in June-July. Young growth appears in September-October. It is of great scientific importance.
Morphological features: A very large legless lizard with a serpentine body. The length of the body is up to 82 cm, but usually less than 48 cm. The tail is 1.6 times longer than the body on average. On the sides of the body there is a deep leather bundle, near the cloacal opening there are rudiments of the hind limbs. The coloration of the upper body is olive or reddish-brown, the belly is yellowish-gray. The underyearlings are light gray in color with transverse brown stripes.
Population conservation regime and protection measures:: The species is under special protection of the convention (Annex II). It is protected in the Yalta Mountain and Forest Nature Reserve, Cape Martyan, Crimean and Kazantip. It is recommended to relocate lizards from dying urban populations to the nearest protected areas, strengthen the protection of the Karalar steppe, reintroduce the species in the Karadag and Opuksky NRs and explanatory work with the population.
Economic and commercial importance: The destruction of invertebrates harmful to humans can be beneficial. It is illegally caught for sale, therefore it has a certain commercial value.
If a snake looks at you and blinks, know that this is not a snake, but a yellow-bellied lizard. This amazing animal has no paws, which misleads an unenlightened person.
Where can you find this unusual reptile? The main habitats of the yellow-bellied lizard are Central and South-Western Asia, Eastern Europe, China, Western Africa, North America. These animals prefer to settle in different places. For some, steppes and semi-deserts are suitable, others choose river valleys, and others choose mountains. In order to hide from predators and people, the yellow-bellied lizard digs burrows on its own or hides in those left by other animals, dives into water bodies, crawls under bushes and tree roots. In our country, this reptile, which is scientifically called the armored spindle, is often found in Anapa.
Appearance
The body of this reptile is serpentine - elongated from the sides and passes into a long tail. It grows up to 120-150 centimeters. If we consider its muzzle separately from the body, it is clearly seen that this is a lizard. Its head is large, auditory openings are visible on the sides. Adults are yellow, brown or copper in color. They differ from young ones in a darker shade and the absence of transverse zigzag stripes. Young lizards usually have 16-22 of them. As a reminder of the limbs, the yellowbell lizard has tubercles near the anus.
Doesn't hurt a person
Strong jaws do an excellent job of catching and eating prey. However, for some reason, the yellowbell cannot protect itself from human touches with their help. Therefore, a person can safely pick up this harmless creature and take a closer look. She won't bite. But he can make it so that you yourself let her go free. This animal sprays its enemy with feces that have a pungent odor. So the hand will open involuntarily. Some believe that the yellowbell lizard is poisonous. This is not true. It kills its prey in a completely different way.
delicious food
First, let's figure out what serves as food for this reptile. It eats insects, invertebrate mollusks, small vertebrates. If you manage to get it, then it does not disdain bird eggs. When hungry, he eats fruits. Interestingly, when meeting with a viper, the yellow-bellied will win. Its body is covered with tough scales, which prevents the snake from biting and injecting poison. And the jaws are so powerful that they allow the lizard to easily bite the viper in half. After that, the snake will be eaten. The yellowbell eats, biting off its prey piece by piece, and not swallowing it whole. Therefore, this process is lengthy. In their relatives, the yellowbell can bite off the tail, which will also be eaten.
Sad but helpful
As you know, in these representatives of the fauna, the tail grows again. It also happens with the yellowbell. It can shed its tail, which it then grows back.
So, how does the yellow-bellied lizard, the photo of which you will find in this article, cope with small rodents? Very simple. She grabs, for example, a mouse, clamps it in her jaws and starts spinning in place until the rodent loses consciousness. And then the meal begins. Pretty brutal way. But you can't argue with nature. Moreover, the yellow-bellied beetle benefits agriculture by destroying snails, slugs and small rodents that spoil the crop. For the same purposes, you can bring it to your personal plot.
Boy or girl
In autumn, the yellowbell hibernates. After awakening during the spring, the mating season begins. The genitals of the yellowbell lizard are not visible to the naked eye. And armed with a microscope, you can’t see them. Therefore, it is impossible to distinguish externally a male from a female. In nature, they distinguish each other on their own and do not need human help. And in research labs, specialists know how to do this by observing lizards and doing research.
New individuals
In nature, lizards live 30-35 years. Puberty occurs as early as 4 years, when the reptile is about half a meter long. After fertilization, the female lays eggs. Usually no more than 6-10 pieces in one litter. The eggs are oval in shape and measure 2-4 centimeters in transverse diameter. Within 30-60 days, the female guards her cubs and the nest hidden in the foliage. Warmth is what is important for the development of small lizards. It is best if the ambient temperature is about +30 degrees. As a result, cubs about 15 centimeters long are born. Yellowbells can live in captivity. But they will breed only if the owner guesses correctly with the determination of sex and puts a female and a male in one terrarium. And guessing will be very difficult.
Pets
But usually reptiles are brought in not for the sake of reproduction, but to observe their life. Especially the owners like the process of feeding. After all, it is possible to give food to the yellow-tubby from the hand. But do not forget that an untamed lizard will be afraid of you and douse you with liquid odorous excrement. It will take some time for the pet to get used to it.
Prepare a flat, horizontal terrarium, the bottom of which is filled with sand interspersed with coarse gravel. Make shelters. After all, the yellow-bellied in nature hides from heat and rain. It is necessary to install a lamp to maintain the optimum temperature. The terrarium should have a feeder and drinker. In captivity, lizards eat the same things as in nature: insects, rodents, eggs and fruits. You can also give small pieces of meat or chicken. The main thing is to monitor the health of the pet and not give something that will make him feel bad.
Our nature is full of miracles. The legless yellowbell lizard, interesting facts about which you found in this article, is one of them. We wish you to meet her in nature to see for yourself what an interesting creature she is.
The second legless lizard of the spindle family known in Europe and Russia is the yellow-bellied lizard. By origin, it is very far from the spindle.
yellowbell lizard
This is a very large lizard. The record length for the species is 144 cm (with tail). The tail is about twice as long as the body. The head of the yellowbell passes into the body without the slightest hint of a cervical interception. It has a shape characteristic of lizards, uniformly tapering towards the tip of the muzzle. The rudiments of the hind limbs are preserved in the yellowbell, which do not play any role in his life. The teeth are very characteristic - powerful, blunt, adapted to crushing. The body of the yellowbell is hard and inflexible, as it is covered with large ribbed scales, under which there are bone plates about 5x5 millimeters in size, forming a bone shell. Because of this feature, the genus that includes the yellowbell is called "armored spindles". There is a gap between the abdominal and dorsal parts of the bone chain mail, which from the outside looks like a lateral longitudinal fold of the skin. It is formed by one or two rows of smaller scales without a bone base. Thanks to these folds, a slightly greater mobility of the body is provided. In addition, folds allow you to increase the volume of the body when eating or when carrying eggs.
Adult yellow-bellies are colored in yellow and brown tones. On this background, small dark spots are sometimes scattered. The underside of the body is lighter. Young yellowbellies look completely different: they are striped. The background color of their body is yellowish gray, the stripes are dark, transverse, zigzag.
Where does the yellowbell live?
Yellowbelly is a southern lizard. In Europe, it is found only on the Balkan Peninsula and in the Crimea; widely distributed in Asia Minor and the Middle East, Central Asia and southern Kazakhstan. In Russia, it is known from the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Kalmykia and Dagestan.
In the areas of its distribution, the yellowbell uses a variety of open habitats: steppes and semi-deserts, mountain slopes, sparse forests, vineyards and abandoned fields. It occurs at altitudes up to 2300 meters. He has daily activity, and he often catches your eye - crawls out onto roads, climbs into buildings. In contrast to the shade-loving and humidity-loving spindle, the yellowbell prefers dry and sunny biotopes. But on the other hand, he willingly enters shallow water and can stay in the water for a long time, although he practically cannot swim. At night and on a hot afternoon, the yellowbell hides in thickets of bushes, under objects lying on the ground, in heaps of stones. In some places, yellowbellies are a common and common lizard.
Despite the relatively little flexibility of the body, the yellowbell can crawl at a fairly high speed. At the same time, it intensively wriggles in waves with a large amplitude, and, having overcome several meters, stops for a short while. Then the next powerful jerk, and again a short pause. Such crawling is markedly different from the smooth and uniform movement of snakes. The yellowbell has to move a lot - in a day he masters the territory with a radius of about 200 meters.
What do yellowbells eat?
Yellowbelly is one of the few lizards specialized in feeding on certain “products”. Powerful jaws and developed blunt teeth are adapted to crush the outer shells of animals, primarily mollusks. Both in nature and in captivity, yellowbellies prefer this particular prey. If the spindle chooses naked slugs or cunningly pulls snails out of the shells, then the yellowbell simply cracks through their “houses” like a nutcracker. Even such large mollusks with a thick shell, like the grape snail, are defenseless against the yellowbell. He is actively looking for his prey. Having noticed it, it can creep up very slowly and then, from a distance of several centimeters, rush at it with lightning speed with its mouth wide open, which, as it were, covers the victim from above. He not only crushes snails with his jaws, but also, holding them in his mouth, crushes them against nearby stones. Swallowed shells and their fragments are digested in the stomach of the yellowbell. Just like snails, the yellowbell bites through large hard insects - beetles, orthopterans. On occasion, he will eat a bird's egg, and a chick, and a mouse-like rodent, and a toad, a lizard, and even a snake. He tries to crush the captured prey, quickly spinning around his axis, so that the victim is crushed on the ground. Like the spindles, two yellowbellies, grabbing one prey from both ends, can, rotating in different directions, break it “brotherly”. Unlike the spindle, the yellowbell includes plant foods in its diet, for example, apricot carrion, vizhnrad berries. The omnivorous yellowbell eats even carrion - a rare food for reptiles; in nature, they observed how the yellowbells tried to swallow the corpses of pikas and magpies.
Reproduction of yellow-bellies
Almost nothing is known about the social and mating behavior of the yellowbell. In captivity, lizards of this species are peaceful towards each other and towards snakes kept together with them. Males are much more common in nature than females. Perhaps females are less active and spend more time in shelters.
The yellowbell has powerful jaws, but rarely uses them for defense. Taken in hand, he tries to free himself with the help of energetic writhing and rotation around his axis. The enemy can also be doused with excrement.
These lizards reproduce by laying eggs. In laying 6-10 large eggs in an elastic white shell; their length is 3-4 centimeters, width is 1.5-2 centimeters. A case was noted when a female guarded her clutch, wrapping herself around her, as some snakes do. Young yellowbellies about 10 centimeters long hatch in a month and a half. It remains a mystery why adults in their habitats are common and often found animals, and their juveniles are extremely rarely seen. Perhaps this is due to the still unknown features of the biology of young yellowbellies.
Like the spindle, when shedding, the yellowbell shifts the dead layers of the skin to the tail.
Large size and bone "chain mail" protect adult animals from most natural predators. They are attacked by some birds, as well as foxes and dogs. Yellowfins do not regenerate. In nature, you can find a lot of individuals with traces of injuries and torn ends of the tails. In some populations, the proportion of such persons with disabilities is as high as 50 percent. Obviously, the main culprits of these injuries are predators, grabbing lizards by their long tails when they crawl into shelters that do not fit entirely, and the defenseless tail is left outside. Hedgehogs are especially dangerous in this regard - they cannot cope with a large and strong lizard, but they can easily tear off or bite off a piece of its tail. It is possible that the yellowbell's tail freezes during sudden frosts. It is also possible that yellowbellies themselves can inflict injuries on each other in fights or during mating.
Injured and tailless lizards do not differ from healthy ones either in behavior or in the nature of activity.
Many of these lizards are destroyed by man in his eternal struggle with snakes. They are also caught for keeping in captivity (yellow-bellies live well in terrariums and in open-air cages). But a person inflicts no less damage indirectly: yellow-bellies die on the roads, fall into various pits, ditches, structures from which they cannot get out.
Pseudopus apodus (Pallas, 1775) Taxonomic position Class reptiles (Reptilia). Order of the lizard (Sauria). The spindle family (Anguidae). conservation status A species that is declining in numbers (2).area
Crimea, Caucasus, Western Asia (Eastern Anatolia, Iran), Central Asia to the Balkhash region in the east. In the Crimea, it is represented by a nominative subspecies.
Features of morphology
Very large legless lizard. Body length - up to 48 cm, total length - up to 1.15 m (very rarely more). Painted in brown-olive and yellowish-gray tones. Underyearlings are light gray with transverse brown stripes.
Features of biology
Associated with the forest-steppe landscapes of the Crimean Mountains (up to 700 m above sea level) and the Kerch Peninsula. The density of populations in optimal biotopes is 1.5–11 individuals per 0.1 ha. Occurs from February to November. Summer hibernation is possible, turning into winter. Mating in April-May. The disproportion in the sex ratio is expressed (there are 3 times more males). Females do not breed annually. In June–July they lay 4–13 eggs, which they guard until the appearance of the yearlings in September–October. Sexual maturity is reached at the age of 3-4 years. Shelters - cavities under stones, gophers. It feeds on large arthropods (including centipedes), mollusks, and small vertebrates.
Threat factors
Destruction of habitats as a result of development, overgrazing, fires; human persecution; road death.
Protection measures
The species is listed in Appendix II of the Berne Convention. It is protected in natural reserves: Yalta mountain forest, Cape Martyan, Kazantip, Crimean and Opuk (rare in the last two). It is necessary to create protected areas in the area of Cape Tarkhan on the Kerch Peninsula and reintroduce the species in the Karadag nature reserve.
Sources of information
Shcherbak, 1966; Kukushkin, 2003 c, d, 2006 b; Kotenko, 2005c, 2007a; Kukushkin, Sviridenko, 2005; Kotenko, Lyashenko, 2007; Kukushkin and Karmyshev, 2008; ChKU, 2009; Kotenko and Kukushkin, 2010, 2013; Kukushkin, Kotenko, 2013; Kukushkin et al., 2012, 2013; Kukushkin, Yarygin, 2013; Keskin et al., 2013.
Compiled by: Kukushkin O.V. A photo: Ruchko P. V., Tupikov A. I.
Yellow-bellied or Capercaillie (Pseudopus apodus) is a legless lizard, a representative of the scaly order, the spindle family.
What does a yellowbell look like?
The body length of an adult yellowbell is about 120 cm, and the tail accounts for about 80 cm. The reptile has no neck at all, the tetrahedral head completely merges with the body, the muzzle has a narrowed shape at the end. The entire body of the lizard is covered with large scales that have a ribbed structure.
Adults usually have a uniform olive-brown, dirty yellow, gray-brown, reddish-brown color. The abdomen is mostly light.
“Clothes” of the young are somewhat different and he wears it until about two to three years of age. Young individuals are yellow-gray in color, across the body from the head to the root of the tail there are dark stripes in the form of Roman fives, semi-arcs or zigzags, and on the tail they are replaced by elongated dark spots. The head is also decorated with stripes. Young yellowtubs are completely different from their parents.
A characteristic feature of the reptile is the lateral skin folds stretching from the ear to the anus, where small tubercles are visible on the right and left, traces of limbs lost during evolution, which the ancestors of the yellow-bellied once possessed.
Yellowbelly is often confused with a snake, which is not surprising. A non-specialist will be able to understand that this is a lizard only by the presence of ear holes (snakes do not have them) and also by the fact that, unlike snakes, the yellowbell can blink. The internal structure of the yellowbell also differs from that of the snake - it has reduced shoulder and pelvic girdle.
Yellow-bellies molt not like snakes - in a stocking, but in pieces.
Like other lizards, the yellowbell can drop its tail.
Habitat of yellowfin
In nature, the yellowbell is found on the southern coast of Crimea, in Asia Minor and Central Asia, on the Balkan Peninsula, in Israel, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, the Caucasus and southern Kazakhstan. They inhabit a variety of biotopes - rocky lowlands and forest edges, river banks and upland semi-deserts.
Yellow-bellies feed mainly on insects - dung beetles, goldfish, ground beetles, May beetles, earthworms, slugs, centipedes, grasshoppers, spiders, etc. The omnivorous yellow-bellied, on occasion, will not refuse newborn rodents, as well as the eggs of birds nesting on the ground. The lizard's favorite food is grape snails. The powerful jaws of the yellowbell can easily grind both the bones of mice and the shells of snails.
reproduction
Males and females of yellowbellies do not have external differences, and only specialists can determine the sex of lizards (by behavior during the mating season, by the level of sex hormones, by radiography).
Yellow-bellied lizards mate in March - April, and in May, females lay from 6 to 10 eggs, from which, at a temperature of 28-30º C, young lizards hatch in 30-45 days, unlike adults - striped ones. Yellowbellies guard the masonry and care for it all the time of incubation, turn over and clean the eggs from debris.
How to feed a yellowbell at home?
At home, the main food for the yellowbell is crickets, fodder cockroaches, locusts, zofobas, snails, caterpillars, earthworms. From time to time, you can offer the lizard newborn mice, pieces of the heart and liver, once a week - a quail egg. You can not feed the yellowbell with flies and domestic cockroaches - they can be poisoned by chemicals. Insects for pet feeding should be grown in conditions where they do not come into contact with household poisons and infection. You can purchase a starter colony from a pet store and then breed them for your lizard yourself.Most yellowbellies know their limits and won't overeat, although some can be very voracious and overeat if left unchecked.
In captivity, yellowtubs are often fed poultry meat and chicken eggs. However, constant feeding with these products can lead to metabolic disorders and diseases of the digestive system. Signs of such violations - the reptile refuses food, the feces become softened, there are undigested pieces of food in it.
Arrangement of a terrarium for a yellowbell
For a comfortable life of a yellow-bellied at home, he will need a horizontal terrarium measuring approximately 100x60x40 cm. At the bottom, you need to put a bed of sand and fine gravel. The required temperature is + 25- + 28 ° С during the day, about + 20 ° С at night. The recommended humidity level is 60-65%.
In their natural habitat, lizards love to sunbathe, so the terrarium should also have a place where the yellowbell can warm up - the temperature at this point should be 30-32 ° C. However, it is necessary to protect the heating point from contact with the body of the animal, otherwise the pet may get burned. To maintain a comfortable temperature, it is necessary to place an incandescent lamp connected using a thermostat. A UV lamp must also be installed. The day length should be 10-12 hours.
Yellowbelly must receive ultraviolet light - this is especially important for young animals and pregnant females. With its deficiency, rickets, weakness, and a violation of the structure of bones can develop, growth slows down in young animals, and weak or non-viable offspring are born in pregnant females. Both in those and in others, lethargy appears, digestion worsens and the molting process is disrupted.
You need to put a drinking bowl in the terrarium, and if possible, a bathing bowl, since reptiles, despite their land-based lifestyle, like to lie in warm water.
Under natural conditions, as shelters, the yellowbell uses the holes of various animals, the spaces between stones and the roots of shrubs. To create a “home environment”, the terrarium should also be equipped with a shelter in which the reptile can hide - a piece of bark, a stone, a broken pot, etc. will do.
And one more thing: you need to be careful when using disinfectants and detergents when cleaning the terrarium: the reptile may be intolerant to such substances.
In cold weather, yellowbellies need wintering. "Winter" lasts 2-3 months, and in the terrarium it should be dark and relatively cold - + 5- + 10 ° C. 2 weeks before wintering, the lizard is no longer fed, they are given only water, while the temperature in the terrarium is gradually lowered.
It is better to keep yellow-bellies alone, uniting them into groups only during the breeding season and preferably in neutral territory. You can mate one male with one female or create reproductive groups of two males and three females (this increases the chances of getting offspring). Young animals bred in captivity are fed with crickets, cockroaches, earthworms.
Where to buy yellowbell?
If you are passionate about how you want this cute creature to live in your home, the question arises: where can you buy such a lizard?
You can go to the Bird Market and look for the Yellow Tubby there. However, in the bird market, most likely, you will be offered a captured reptile. In addition, sellers usually do not bother to provide animals with a normal temperature, which leads to overheating in summer and hypothermia in winter. If you still could not get past the terrarium with the yellow-bellied, then carefully examine the lizard - if it has wounds, swellings, sores and vesicles on its skin. Observe the yellow-bellied beetle - whether it moves well, whether it willingly accepts food.
The most reasonable option is to purchase a yellowbell at a pet store, or even better, from those who breed these reptiles at home. When visiting a breeder, pay attention to the condition of the young and parents, to the conditions of their maintenance. If reptiles live in spacious, clean terrariums, they are mobile, have no visible damage and anomalies, they accept food well - feel free to buy. You will get an unusual pet that is easy to tame and very interesting to watch and care for. As a rule, the yellowbell gets used to new conditions quickly. It will take a little time, and it will become completely tame.
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