The Unstartled Steppes of Dream
I am Ashley.
This is my personal blog. If you want just marine biology, go here.
I love the world; I really don't like people.
I balance all this animosity towards the human race with being an almost always kind and gentle being to all creatures.
I'm highly introverted and nature is my primary escape from humanity.
Creepy-crawly-slimy things are my favorites. Dinosaurs are fantastic.
Future marine biologist; presently an amateur entomologist, ichthyologist, artist, biologist, and writer.
Literature, video game, and music connoisseur.
I'm so full of passion for the world that it hurts.
I think a lot, I laugh a lot, I love a lot.
Almost none of the photos are mine and only some of the drawings are mine.
Listen in.
The crocodile newt, also known as the mandarin salamander (Tylototriton verrucosus), is lined and dotted with bright orange markings that let other animals know not to eat it. When attacked, glands in the crocodile newt’s skin exude a distasteful secretion. Typically land-dwelling and nocturnal, this amphibian hunts at night for invertebrates. During monsoon season, they migrate to breeding ponds to lay their eggs before returning to their terrestrial environments.
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The Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) is only found in a small area of eastern Asia. These little reptiles can be very difficult to spot due to the fact that they can freeze midstride for hours at a time to escape detection. Because its coloring acts as good camouflage, becoming motionless for periods of time render it almost invisible. It also has an interesting way to survive lower temperatures: it is able to shut down its internal system to conserve energy during particularly cold nights.
Known as the saltwater crocodile, estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), this formidable predator is the world’s largest reptile, and is also one of the few crocodilians that frequently swims out to sea. Its power and ferocity are legendary, and it is thought to be responsible for more than 1,000 human deaths per year. The saltwater crocodile has powerful jaws housing teeth up to 13 cm long. Its immensely tough skin is covered with thick scales. The scales on its back are armored with bony deposits called osteoderms, while its tail has a double row of upright bony plates (scutes). Its nostrils close when it dives, but it cannot exclude water from its mouth. Instead, it has a valve at the entrance to its throat, which opens only when it swallows food.
It controls its body temperature by cooling down in water and warming up in the sun. Like other large crocodiles, the saltwater crocodile hunts by stealth, lurking close tot he shore, hiding beneath the water with little more than its eyes and nose visible. When an animal comes within range, it bursts out of the water with explosive force, grabs its victim, and then drags it under until it drowsn. Crocodiles cannot chew their food—instead, they tear it to pieces, digesting scales, skin, and even bones. Their natural prey includes birds, fish, turtles, and a wide variety of mammals, such as wild boar, monkeys, horses, and water buffalo. Females lay up to 90 eggs in a waterside mound, carrying their young to the water when they hatch. Saltwater crocodiles are hunted in many parts of their range, making large specimens rarer than they once were.
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*Note: I didn’t write this description and I think it’s a lot of fear-mongering. Blame it on the AMNH.
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