Category: Reptiles
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Sleepy Lizards
I’ve been fond of Sleepy Lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) ever since I saw them on a wildlife documentary several years ago, back in the UK (it’s probably David Attenborough’s fault). In 2017 I was lucky enough to see some for real, in their natural habitat. Also known as Shinglebacks, these splendid Australian reptiles have a number…
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Rhamphorhyncus
This is a close-up of a well-preserved Rhamphorhyncus from the Royal Ontario Museum; it’s from the Middle Jurassic, so it’s at least 161 million years old. Rhamphorhyncus was a pterosaur (so, not a dinosaur, as any fule kno) – apparently, the name means ‘beak snout’. This particular fossil came from the Bavarian Solnhofen limestone (noted…
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Crocodilian
This rather splendid fellow is a resident of Toronto Zoo, although I’m embarrassed to say that I can’t remember the species – it’s some sort of modest-sized crocodilian, possibly an American Alligator. One has to be very careful when visiting zoos in Ontario: mainly due to a lack of serious regulation, a lot of them…
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Snapping Turtles
As I’ve alluded to elsewhere, one of the really cool things about Canada is that humanity hasn’t killed off all the big interesting animals here yet (unlike in the UK); as well as that, Canada has turtles! In the UK, we don’t have any native turtles; occasionally, you get the odd feral Red-Eared Slider taking…