Showing posts with label Caiman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caiman. Show all posts

Gharial

Saturday, January 7, 2012

  
The Life of Animals | Gharial | The average size of mature gharials is 3.5 to 4.5 m (11 to 15 ft). Young gharials can reach a length of 1 m (3.3 ft) in eighteen months. Males attain a body length of 3 to 6 m (9.8 to 20 ft), while females are Smaller and reach a body length of 2.7 to 3.75 m (8.9 to 12.3 ft).  Male individuals of up to 6 meters (20 ft) were the resource persons commonly encountered in the past, but large Such individuals are unknown today. Their well-developed laterally flattened tail and webbed rear feet Provide Tremendous Their maneuverability in deepwater habitats. On land, however, an adult gharial Itself can only push forward and slides on its belly. Its elongated, narrow snout Becomes Thicker proportionally shorter and as an animal ages. The bulbous growth on the tip of a male's snout renders gharials the only visibly sexually dimorphic crocodilian. This growth is present in mature individuals and ghara Called after the Indian word meaning "pot". The Nepali word means घड़ा ghaṛā earthenware pots, pitchers, watervessel.



The jaws are lined with many interlocking, razor-sharp teeth - 27 to 29 upper and 25 or 26 lower teeth on each side. The front teeth are the largest. The nasal opening of a gharial is Smaller than the supra-temporal fossae. The lower anterior margin of orbit (Jugal) is raised and its mandibular symphysis is extremely long, extending to the 23rd or 24th tooth. Nuchal and dorsal scutes form a single continuous shield composed of 21 or 22 transverse series. Gharials have an outer row of soft, smooth, or feebly keeled scutes in Addition to the bony dorsal scutes.

The outer toes are two-thirds webbed, while the middle toe is only one-third webbed. Typically, adult gharials have a dark olive color tone, while young ones are pale olive, with dark brown spots or cross-bands Since 2007, the species is listed as Critically Endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species Issued by IUCN, and protected by CITES Appendix I. mConservation programs have been undertaken in India and Nepal, based on the establishment of these protected areas and restocking with animals born in captivity, but nowhere has re-established viable restocking Populations In the 1970s the gharial Came to the Brink of extinction and even now Remains on the critically endangered list.  Since 1981, more than 3000 young gharial have been released into the wild. The release of captive gharials was not as Successful as expected. Recently, more than 100 gharials Died in India in the Chambal River from an unknown cause with gout-like symptoms.

Caiman

Thursday, December 29, 2011

 
  
The Life of Animals | Caiman | The spectacled caiman reach sexual maturity will from any where from 4 to 7 years. season ends after the females Will Build Nests out of dense vegetation. The size of the nest varies Depending on the resources available to the female.Each female can lay up to forty eggs The larger females have recently been found to lay eggs That are larger than the females lay eggs Smaller Most Caimans Will nest During the wet season .



The temperature is too low for the eggs Temperature is Important to the developing eggs. Females Will Build Their Nests in a way Them That insulates from extreme temperature changes. The Nests are made of vegetation. Caiman do not possess the genes Necessary to determine sex. They depend on temperature. When the temperature inside the nest is approximately 31 degrees Celsius, or lower, the Caiman Will Become male.


Young Caiman do not hatch with the dark green coloring of Their parents. This coloration will eventually fade away Spectacled caiman have strongly protective maternal behavior.  The larger caimans Will eat fish and water snails Older animals are capable of taking larger, mammalian prey (eg wild pigs). Observations show That Become conditions as drier, caimans stop feeding.  Until recently, it was thought the Caiman Crocodilus That would overeat the fish and snail Populations. Some suggest Populations That They control piranha.