Gaint legless Skink - Acontias plumbeus – family Scincidae

Giant legless Skink - Acontias plumbeus – family Scincidae • Note : I had to extract bits and pieces of information from a number of different Internet sites to make up the species notes for this posting and thus in instead of naming all the research sources I thought I’d rather just mention that information on this species is very sparse and was difficult to obtain. Basic Info Firstly Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. The Giant legless skink is the largest of the legless skinks The Giant Legless Lizard averages between 16-18 inches (45cm) in length and extremely thick around the middle (with specimens up to 55cm been recorded) They usually weigh between 300 to 600 grams. The Legless Lizard, as the name would suggest does not have developed legs and to the naked eye resembles a snake and thus often killed. However, they do have free-floating hipbones and the nubs of underdeveloped leg bones. Skinks have thick stocky body which can get to approximately ½ metre in length and have a short blunt cylindrical tail. The head is broad and elongated, with a duck like face due to it having a hard snout which looks like a beak on the top of its head. They have powerful jaws and teeth which can inflict a painful bite, but it's not harmful to man. Habitat These creatures live underground and are seldom seen and like to burrow. They can be found in various habitat types from desert sand and coastal dunes, dry shrub land and savanna, to woodland humus and forest floors. Behaviour They are often seen after lots of rain, due to the areas getting clogged with rain, which forces them to the surface. They are diurnal reptiles, meaning they hunt during the day. Giant legless skinks hunt on the ground. They main hunting method is to ambush their prey from below ground. Diet They eat things like mealworms, crickets, even frogs, small mammals, bird eggs, insects, and earthworms which they kill with their crushing bite Reproduction They bear live young and can have up to 14 at a time

Photo taken by KimPhillips Other articles that i found on them in regards to Hluhluwe Imfolozi park : http://www.treknature.com/gallery/photo164453.htm

Some Rhino Facts

Some Rhino Facts

1.  The word rhinoceros comes from the Greek words, rhino (nose) and ceros (horn).

2.  The closest living rhino ‘relatives’ are tapirs, horses and zebras

3.  Depending on the species, rhino can live to between 35 and 50 years old

4.   White rhino aren’t white (and black rhinos aren’t black). The white rhino’s name is taken from the early German settlers ‘weit’ and Dutch ‘wijd’ from which th Afrikaans word ‘wyd’ is derived ‘describing its mouth as ‘wide’. It is believed that early English settlers in South Africa reportedly misinterpreted the ‘weit’ or ’wijd’ for ‘white’.

 

 

5.  The white rhino is the largest rhino (and the largest land mammal after the elephant). They can weigh up to 6,000 pounds.

6.  Rhino are fast! They can run up to 30–40 miles per hour, which may not sound like much, but if one is running at you will feel like a steam train.

7.  Rhino gestation periods (pregnancies) last 15-16 months.

8.  A rhino’s skin is much softer than it looks, and is actually quite sensitive to sunburns and insect bites they roll in the mud to protect themselves from the sunburns and insects, and use rubbing posts to remove insects.

9.  Rhino have poor eyesight, but a very well-developed sense of smell and hearing.

10.  African Rhino have a symbiotic relationship with oxpeckers. The oxpecker eats ticks and other insects it finds on the rhino, and serves as an alarm creating a commotion when it senses danger.

11.  Most rhino use piles of dung called “middens” to leave ‘messages’ for other rhinos, the smell identifies its owner as a unique animal and is different for young vs. adult animals, for males vs. females, and females in oestrus vs. non-reproductive females. Middens combined with urine left along animal trails mark a rhino’s territory creating invisible ‘borders’, which they defend jealously.

12.  Rhino are not always solitary, white Rhino are commonly found in groups and black rhino may also be found in groups, usually adult and juveniles. A group of rhino is referred to a ‘crash’ or more commonly a ‘herd’.

13.  Black and White Rhino may and do co-habitat, mainly because they focus on different food resources, although black rhino do browse it is not their preferred source of nutrition.

14. Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same material that makes up your hair and fingernails.

15. Although science has proven rhino horn to be void of any curative medicinal properties, it is still illegally used in traditional Chinese medicines to treat a variety of ailments–from fevers to boils, liver dysfunction, cancer, and even devil possession. Contrary to a common misconception, rhino horn is not used to improve libido.

16. The burgeoning demand for the horn stems almost exclusively from East and Southeast Asia–predominantly from China and Vietnam–and has resulted in unprecedented poaching of these magnificent animals. As a result, they are now poached at a rate of at least one a day.

References:

·         www.bushwarriors.org

·         Signs of the Wild –Clive Walker