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CoffeeCreature PrinceSushi R0NST3R Bogie Rcmmm CoffeeCreature |
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CoffeeCreature View Profile |
Why They Are Lizards (Not Snakes)
Lizards, including legless ones, have fixed jaws, eyelids, external ears, and autonomous tails (=can be dropped if in danger). Legless lizards have vestigial hip bones. Snakes have a greater number of vertebrae than legless lizards and therefore are more agile and flexible. Instead of eyelids, snakes have clear eye caps. All snakes are carnivores, while most lizards are omnivores, including legless lizards. List of Differences: Eyeslids: lizards have them but snakes do not Eyecaps: snakes have them but lizards do not Jaws: snakes can unhinge them but lizards cannot Ears: lizards have external ears but snakes do not Tails: lizards can drop their tails (="caudal autonomy") but snakes cannot Vertebrae: snakes have hundreds, while lizards have fewer Diet: all snakes are carnivores, while many lizards are omnivores Scales: there are many differences between lizard scales and snake scales Digestion: snake skin can expand to allow for the digestion of large prey, lizard skin cannot Calcium Absorption: lizards need to get vitamin D from sunlight in order to absorb calcium from their food, but snakes do not need this Metabolism: Legless lizards generally need to eat every day, but snakes need to eat less frequently (such as one meal per week) Lateral groove: legless lizards have this extra fold of skin to allow them to expand while digesting, snakes do not need this Constriction: many snakes (boas, pythons, and some colubrids) can coil tightly and use their muscles to constrict prey, legless lizards cannot Tail / Body Ratio: legless lizards have very long tails, while snakes have shorter tails An expert herpetologist could probably point out many more differences. Most legless lizards are anguids, as are alligator lizards. Alligator lizards look like short legless lizards with small legs. For the sake of comparison, here are some pictures: Alligator lizard:
Legless lizard:
Snake:
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| 01/01/08 01:50pm |
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PrinceSushi View Profile |
Message To: CoffeeCreature In reference to Message Id: 1564059 Why They Are Lizards (Not Snakes)
Quote: Lizards, including legless ones, have fixed jaws, eyelids, external ears, and autonomous tails (=can be dropped if in danger).
Tails: lizards can drop their tails (="caudal autonomy") but snakes cannot Not all lizards have the ability to drop their tails.BDs, most if not all monitors and chams are just some of the lizards that can not drop their tails. Quote: Eyeslids: lizards have them but snakes do not
Eyecaps: snakes have them but lizards do not Link Not all lizards have eyelids.Some lizards have brille just like snakes. Brille is a special scale like covering over the eyes that gets shed, just like any other scale. Example: Geckos in the families: Aeluroscalabotinae Gekkoninae Teratoscincinae Diplodactylinae Do not have eyelids. Only eublepharinae geckos have eyelids. |
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| 01/08/08 06:08am |
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R0NST3R View Profile |
Message To: PrinceSushi In reference to Message Id: 1573232 Why They Are Lizards (Not Snakes)
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| 01/13/08 03:51pm |
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Bogie View Profile |
Message To: R0NST3R In reference to Message Id: 1577138 Why They Are Lizards (Not Snakes)
harry |
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| 01/16/08 01:43pm |
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Rcmmm View Profile |
Message To: Bogie In reference to Message Id: 1580923 Why They Are Lizards (Not Snakes)
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| 01/31/08 10:25pm |
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CoffeeCreature View Profile |
Message To: Rcmmm In reference to Message Id: 1603924 Why They Are Lizards (Not Snakes)
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| 02/11/08 04:56pm |
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