Moloch is a lizard that strikes with its appearance

In the deserts of central and western Australia inhabits an unusual reptile - Moloch. This lizard looks very impressive. The first scientist was impressed by John Gray, who in 1840 caught and described this interesting animal. He even was able to bring one specimen to Europe for demonstration to his colleagues.

What are lizards?

The Australian aborigines would not object strongly when they learned that a newcomer from Europe called the beast "Moloch". The lizard in their view is generally a horned devil. So she had no chance at any nice name at all.

Judge for yourself: 22 centimeters of short thorns and sharp thorns, along the horn above each eye, the thorns around the head and neck form a kind of Spanish collar that makes the small flat head visually larger. Spines and corneal shields are everywhere, even on short crooked legs and abdomen. Such a walking cactus, and not a lizard sem-va agam, according to the encyclopedia.

Color

Coloring in moloch patronizing, under the red-yellow-brown soil of Australian deserts, so very bright, even beautiful. Above the body is brown, with red or orange. All the colored spots and stripes are strictly symmetrical and add up to an interesting pattern. The abdomen and the lower side of the tail also have a pattern of colored strips and rhombuses.

This lizard is interesting and the ability to change the shades of the skin depending on the ambient temperature. Of course, it can not be called a desert chameleon. But the changes in color are obvious. Professor R. Mertens, who oversaw the fry in Australia, noted that in the morning, while the air temperature is only approaching 30 ° C, the lizards are still greenish-gray. And olive shade is very saturated. But a few minutes pass, the sunlight becomes brighter, the temperature is higher, and now there is a yellow-brown moloch on the ground. The lizard retains this color until dark and a drop in temperature.

Burying in the sand

For habitat, they chose desert sandy soils. They can be completely buried in the ground. A flat body can easily escape into the sand from rapid movements. How so? Such terrible animals, but there is a need to dig into the sand?

Outwardly they are ugly, but they can not cause any harm to anyone. Unless ants, which are eaten up to several thousand a day. Attaching near the ant trail, they collect them with a sticky tongue.

An interesting feature

They are so slow and harmless that as a defense against enemies nature has given them a second head. It is well known that any lizard can be saved if the enemy grabs her by the tail. She will part with him easily, and the tail will then grow again. But this is not our moloch (lizard). A false head - that's what he will not hesitate to give to the predator attacking him. By tilting the present lower down, the moloch expands the horn-like outgrowths on the neck under the teeth, which save it. By the way, maybe that's why it was once believed that moloch are terrible animals. So it is really possible to think, after all to it a head have bit off, and he is alive remains. What is there to do? You have to contrive, otherwise you will not live 20 years when there are lizards, snakes, birds around - and they are all faster, stronger and larger.

Accumulation

Usually, the inhabitants of deserts and semi-deserts have a secret of accumulation or economical consumption of water. Possesses such and moloch. The lizard can store moisture due to the hygroscopicity of its skin: numerous spines significantly increase its surface. The entire area of the skin of a 22-centimeter reptile absorbs water.

And it significantly increases in size, by about 30 percent. Learn and understand how Moloch later spends this moisture, scientists were able only with the help of modern instruments. Under the scarred scutes pass microscopic canals through which water moves as necessary to the mouth of a miracle lizard. With the onset of the most arid periods, Moloch hides in the sand and falls into a hibernation.

Pairing

In the spring, which begins in the southern hemisphere in September, males begin to search for a sexually mature female. As the reptile pairs do not form, after fertilization, the female independently searches for a suitable burrow, where it lays up to 10 eggs. She will mask the masonry and bury it almost the whole day. It will take about 100-130 days before hatching small and absolutely helpless "horned devils". True, what kind of devils are there, if their length is half a centimeter, and weight is 2 grams? First they will eat eggshells from eggs, from which they hatched, then they will start to get out on the surface. Grow molochi slowly until they reach puberty and put 22 centimeters in height, it will take 5 years.

Such a prolonged growing does not go to lizards for good. Zoologists of Australia are forced to protect the masonry, which gives the young moths the opportunity to leave them alive and healthy. While this work allows you to save the only representative of this interesting species.