59
votes
Accepted
Help identifying leaf-like bone
Those are isolated turtle bones:
Specifically, they are part of the carapace, or upper shell. The projections would articulate with the backbone. The "toothlike" structure at the other end projects ...
- 12.2k
30
votes
Accepted
What is this animal looking like an Axolotl?
Based on the size and location that appears to be a Common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus). (Photo © Brian Gratwicke — CC BY)
The four toes visible on the front foot are also consistent with this ...
- 5,577
17
votes
What is this animal looking like an Axolotl?
Judging from the small limbs and overall size, it appears to be a large aquatic salamander, similar to Necturus maculosus, the mudpuppy. These have a pretty cosmopolitan distribution in North America, ...
- 12.2k
15
votes
Accepted
Indian Snake Species Identification
Ashok's Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis ashoki).
This is a relatively small snake (typically 70 cm in length) that feeds on lizards, frogs and small rodents.
More information can be found here or here.
...
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10
votes
What kind of snake is this
It looks like an Eastern Hognose Snake, which is characterized by an upturned nose and high likelihood of playing dead.
These are described as variable in coloration:
"Two color phases are common ...
- 12.2k
8
votes
Accepted
How do snakes determine the direction of prey from their thermal infrared sensing pit organs?
From Wikipedia:
The facial pit actually visualizes thermal radiation using the same optical principles as a pinhole camera, wherein the location of a source of thermal radiation is determined by the ...
- 44.1k
7
votes
Accepted
Lizard species identification
This lizard is likely a Roughtail Rock Agama (Stellagama stellio or Laudakia stellio). They are colloquially referred to as hardon (or hardun) lizards.
According to Wikipedia:
Like many agamids, ...
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7
votes
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What species of snake found in central Alabama, US?
Definitely looks like some species of rat snake (genus Pantherophis). Based on the size, location and coloration, I'd say it's a dark variant of a Gray rat snake (Pantherophis spiloides).
It might ...
- 29.7k
7
votes
Were there any flying dinosaurs?
Asides from flight-capable modern birds and their early ancestors1, there are several other therapod dinosaurs which palaeontologists suspect were capable of flight, "but in a manner ...
- 1,562
7
votes
Accepted
What's the most recent common ancestor of reptiles and humans?
I think that you are looking for the amniote common ancestor.
Amniotes are the group of organisms that have an amnion, a specific membrane around the egg, among other features. This includes reptiles, ...
- 9,172
6
votes
Accepted
What kind of snake is this?
Great find!
I'm pretty certain that is actually a Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster - likely the subspecies L. c. calligaster). The biggest indicator to me are the two alternating rows of ...
- 2,046
6
votes
Accepted
Evolution of dinosaurs
Source of information
See the post The best free and most up to date phylogenetic tree on the internet? for info about how to find such information.
Generally speaking, you might be interested in an ...
- 68k
6
votes
Accepted
Are snake capable of love? (social bond in a male/female couple)
Not as far as I can tell. The closest example I can find is within-season pair bonding in copperhead snakes (defined as a male-female pair remaining together for some time, in this case defined as ...
- 5,324
5
votes
Help identifying leaf-like bone
These are, as stated in @kmm's well-received answer from 2 years ago, osseous components of a turtle's carapace, or upper shell. More specifically, these bones are called pleurals and consist of the ...
- 29.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Can you identify this snake?
Hard to tell without a clearer picture, but the size and color pattern seem to match the description for the Plain-bellied Watersnake.
See for example the following picture from the Virginia ...
- 5,577
4
votes
Minor differences in morphology of a snake: Why designate it a different species?
Short explanation
According to the papers I could find, Dendrelaphis ashoki and D. girii aren't as closely related as you suggest: D. ashoki appears to be closely related to D. pictus, a Southeast ...
- 1,148
4
votes
Accepted
What species is this lizard?
By the picture and the official distribution it looks to be as you said a Lacerta viridis.
Some references and distribution here:
https://www.iucnredlist.org/...
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4
votes
Accepted
What is this species of green frog found in store-bought flowers in France?
This looks very much like a tree frog of which there are many similar looking species. Without knowing where your flowers came from or more characteristics about the specimen, it'll be difficult to ...
- 29.7k
4
votes
Accepted
What is this tiny lizard?
This looks like a Common Garden Skink (Lampropholis guichenoti)
Further information can be found here and here
The description is a quote from the first source:
The colour of the skin of a common ...
- 519
4
votes
The 4-chambered heart
The short answer is crocodiles may be secondarily cold blooded, but the long answer is warm blooded and cold blooded is not a binary condition but a spectrum.
It has to do with how much heat you ...
- 14.3k
4
votes
Did any warm blooded animals evolve back into cold blooded?
Secondary ectothermy has been suggested in living crocodylians by Seymour et al. (2004). Their rationale is based on:
Presence of a 4 chambered heart (otherwise only found in endotherms)
Post-cardiac ...
- 12.2k
4
votes
Accepted
How old is the Pogona genus?
Another way to ask this question:
How old is the most recent common ancestor of Pogona lizards and their closest relatives?
Diporiphora is a sister clade of Pogona, as stated in Hugall et al. 2008.1 ...
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4
votes
What animal is this? Caution, GRAPHIC!
My guess is the ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus).
Credit: Adel Ibrahim ; Source: The Reptile database
The species is names for its black/white ocellated, or eye-like, patched scales, similar ...
- 29.7k
3
votes
Why is there an apparent reduction of reptile species near the Mississippi River?
The reptiles mostly were ploughed away and replaced with soy beans.
The low reptile diversity zone matches the Mississippi Alluvial Plain which includes the Mississippi Floodplain. The Mississipi ...
- 10.3k
3
votes
Identification of snake
Check out the Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula splendida). It is native to New Mexico.
Source: Desert Kingsnake (wikipedia)
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3
votes
Can someone tell me what kind of reptile is this?
My guess is that you have in your a hand a lizard of the Genus Sceloporus , and perhaps Sceloporus occidentalis longipes.
Commonly called the Great Basin fence lizard is a subspecies of the western ...
- 181
3
votes
What is the name of this snake?
My answer's coming late but thought it's worth checking out the comment made by Anutapa bhattaharya that it was a wolf snake. I realise he only said it with no references or photos but still, since ...
- 1,136
3
votes
What is the name of this snake?
Just to add another option:
My guess (though no more confident than @p.s.w.g's answer) is Balanophis ceylonensis (Sri Lankan Keelback) or related species.
The two features that stand out to me ...
- 29.7k
3
votes
Accepted
What is the name of this snake?
I'm not an expert by any means, and anyone with proper training could probably provide a more informed opinion, but here's my thoughts. The patterning looks similar to Oligodon taeniolatus, an small, ...
- 1,427
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible