In the deserts of central and western Australia there is an unusual reptile - moloch. This lizard looks very impressive. The first of the scientists was impressed by John Gray, who in 1840 caught and described this interesting animal. He was even able to bring one individual to Europe for demonstration to colleagues.
What are lizards?
Australian Aborigines would not mind if they knew that a visiting European called the animal "Moloch." The lizard in their view is generally a horned devil. So she had no chance at all of a pretty name.
Judge for yourself: 22 centimeters of short spikes and sharp spikes, on the horn above each eye, the spikes around the head and neck form a kind of Spanish collar that makes a small flat head visually larger. Spikes and horn flaps are everywhere, even on short, crooked legs and abdomen. Such a walking cactus, and not a lizard of the family agam, as the encyclopedia claims.
Color
Moloch has a protective color, under the red-yellow-brown soils of the Australian deserts, so it is very bright, even beautiful. The top of the body is brown, with red or orange. All colored spots and stripes are strictly symmetrical and fold into an interesting pattern. The abdomen and the underside of the tail also have a pattern of colored stripes and rhombs.
This lizard is also interesting in its ability to change skin tones depending on the ambient temperature. Of course, it cannot be called a desert chameleon. But the color changes are obvious. Professor R. Mertens, who observed the molochs in Australia, noted that in the morning, while the air temperature only approaches 30 ° C, the lizards are still greenish-gray. Moreover, the olive shade is very saturated. But a few minutes pass, the sunlight becomes brighter, the temperature is higher, and a yellow-brown molok sits on the ground. The lizard will retain this color until dark and lower temperatures.
Sanding
For habitation they have chosen desert sandy soils. They can completely bury themselves in the ground. A flat body easily leaves in the sand from fast movements. How so? Such terrible animals, but there is a need to bury in the sand?
Outwardly they are ugly, but they can do no harm to anyone. Unless ants eat up to several thousand per day. Having settled down near the ant trail, they collect them with a sticky tongue.
Interesting feature
They are so slow and harmless that as a defense against enemies, nature gave them a second head. It is well known that any lizard can be saved if the enemy grabbed her tail. She will easily part with him, and then the tail will grow back. But this is not our moloch (lizard). A fake head is what he will not hesitate to give to the predator that attacked him. By lowering the real one, the moloch puts the horny growths on his neck under the teeth, which save him. By the way, maybe that’s why it was once thought that molochs are terrible animals. You can really think so, because his head was bitten off, but he remained alive. What is there to do? You have to contrive, otherwise you will not live 20 years when there are lizards, snakes, birds around - and all of them are faster, stronger and larger.
Accumulation
Usually, the inhabitants of deserts and semi-deserts have the secret of accumulating or economical water consumption. Possesses such and moloch. The lizard can store moisture due to the hygroscopicity of its skin: numerous spikes significantly increase its surface. The entire skin area of a 22-centimeter reptile absorbs water.
And it is significantly increasing in size, by about 30 percent. Scientists were able to learn and understand how moloch then spends this moisture, only with the help of modern devices. Microscopic canals pass under keratinized shields, through which water, as needed, moves into the mouth of the miracle lizard. With the onset of the driest periods, moloch hides in the sand and hibernates.
Pairing
In spring, which begins in the southern hemisphere in September, males begin to search for a mature female. Since the reptiles do not form pairs, after fertilization, the female independently searches for a suitable hole, where she lays up to 10 eggs. She will mask the masonry and bury almost the whole day. It will take about 100-130 days before the small and completely helpless "horned devils" hatch. True, what kind of devils are there if their length is half a centimeter and their weight is 2 grams? First, they will eat shells from the eggs from which they hatched, then they will begin to get to the surface. Molochs grow slowly, until they reach puberty and the required 22 centimeters of growth, 5 years will pass.
Such prolonged maturation does not benefit lizards. Australian zoologists are forced to protect the masonry, which gives the little Molochs the opportunity to leave them alive and healthy. So far, such work allows you to save the only representative of this interesting species.