New Zealand, an isolated island nation, is often a magical land with endemic creatures that are not found in other countries and regions. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Nowadays, countries like to label certain species as living fossils, such as China's giant panda, Australia's sixgill shark, and America's metasequoia.

In this case, New Zealand cannot be left behind, and they also have living fossils, which are crocodile lizards.

The crocodile lizard is one of the most endangered protected species in New Zealand, its English name is tuatara, from the Maori language, meaning "carrying the mountain on the back", the Chinese scientific name is beaked lizard, because of the special structure of its teeth is also called the wedge-toothed lizard, but New Zealanders like to call it the New Zealand crocodile lizard.

This kind of name is not only simple and down-to-earth, but also can reflect at a glance where it belongs.

The New Zealand crocodile lizard is an endemic species of New Zealand, which has not evolved much from the Triassic period to the present, and is a relatively primitive lizard and a living fossil-like reptile.

The New Zealand crocodile lizard has no relatives on Earth today, but 200 million years ago, they had many relatives and friends, but unfortunately they are the only ones who have survived until now.

Wang Bo had only seen this creature on TV, and had not seen it in reality, and when he received a call from Professor Shandra, he hurried over.

The branch of Lincoln University is under intense preparation, and now many buildings are laying foundations, and the experimental area is mainly for breeding crops, so there are no high-rise buildings, and there is no need to lay foundations, and this one is the first to be built.

The so-called experimental area is a fenced grassland, in which there are color steel tile houses and board houses, and they are still very simple.

On the way to the car, Wang Bo remembered an academic heart that he had drawn before, this heart has not been used, he doesn't know how to use it, and now there is a school in the town, is it used in the school?

With this in mind, he opened the sandbox to find the location of Lincoln University and put his academic heart on it.

As a result, this pale green crystal heart, which could not be used anywhere else, was suddenly integrated into it.

This heart is for school, but Wang Bo didn't think of primary school and middle school before, so it has been useless, and it can be regarded as a mistake.

When he arrived at the experimental area, this area was closed and blocked by an electric iron fence gate, and the security guard came out to check his identity before opening the door to let him in.

Professor Sandra was waiting for him in front of a two-hundred-square-meter house with large colored steel tiles, and beckoned when he saw him.

Wang Bo entered the house and saw that many parts of this color steel tile house had been rebuilt, imitating the appearance of islands and reefs, with many reefs scattered on the ground and some crocodile lizards crawling.

These crocodile lizards are similar in appearance to ordinary lizards, but they have long mouths and a bit of a crocodile look at their heads, which is obviously where their name comes from.

The alligator lizards on the reef have different body colors, such as gray, brown, green, etc., and their body sizes are also different, and the largest ones can be 80 centimeters from the tip of the head to the tip of the tail.

However, compared to the majestic umbrella lizards in the beast farm, they are still relatively small, even the large ones are estimated to weigh no more than 1 kilogram.

Seeing Wang Bo, these crocodile lizards immediately became vigilant, and then they ran to the nearby reef crevices to hide, and some couldn't find a place to hide, as if they were broken jars, they held their heads high and didn't move.

But slowly, something interesting happened, the color of the skin of these alligator lizards changed, more and more similar to the surrounding rocks, and one of them was very similar to the color of the kelp around them, turning greenish-brown.

Seeing this, Wang Bo was surprised and said, "Will they still change color?" ”

Professor Sandra smiled, "So, many people in the outside world think that chameleons are their brothers. They are also able to match their colors to their environment, but not as fast as chameleons. ”

Looking at these little guys with interest, Wang Bo asked, "Did you call me?" ”

Professor Sandra perked up and said, "That's right, these crocodile lizards are from Thompxun Island, and there is a rat plague on that island, which seriously threatens the lives of these poor little creatures, so they need to find a home again." ”

Crocodile lizards currently live on many of New Zealand's islands because they are far from humans and predators, but their survival is worrying because some of their habitat has been invaded by rodents, mainly rats.

Since the end of the 19th century, they have been included in the New Zealand government's list of protected animals, which shows how valuable they are, and many countries at that time did not even protect people by law.

Wang Bo laughed and said, "Are they still afraid of mice?" They have crocodiles. ”

Speaking of which, crocodile lizards are indeed not good at stubble, and when they bully things smaller than themselves, they are called capable.

The food of crocodile lizards includes young birds, bird eggs, beetles, crickets, spiders, frogs, and even the young of the same kind, so many baby alligator lizards do not dare to appear next to adult individuals when they are young, but hide quietly in stone crevices or shelters to avoid being eaten by other alligator lizards.

But when encountering an opponent who is bigger or more ferocious than himself, it will be blind, the mouse is too fast, the teeth are too sharp, and they often like to go out in groups, and the crocodile lizard will join its luxurious lunch and dinner when it encounters it.

Professor Sandra introduced him and said, "Many of the crocodile lizards in this group are old fellows, and they can't even run away from the rats, so they have to be protected. ”

Wang Bo asked: "I watched TV and said that crocodile lizards have a longer lifespan, right?" ”

Professor Sandra nodded and said, "Yes, it takes about 20 years for them to reach maturity, which is later than humans. ”

"In addition, before the age of 40, they can grow taller and stronger. The average life expectancy is at least 60 years, and according to our research, at least five of them live to be more than 100 years old. ”

"At such an age?" Wang Bo exclaimed.

Professor Sandra nodded, "Yes, it's not uncommon, if you don't have predators and food shortages in captivity, you can live up to 200 years." ”

Adult New Zealand crocodile lizards molt at least once a year, and like other cold-blooded animals, they grow a little bit after one molt.

Professor Sandra told Wang Bo that it was a pity that the growth genes of the crocodile lizard were restricted to death, otherwise they could have grown into Godzilla's.

Of course, if they could really grow that big, they wouldn't be alive now, and the crocodile lizards have survived to this day because of their small meals.

Wang Bo heard the meaning of his words and said with a smile: "I don't care how much they can eat, but I don't know where Sunset Town is suitable for raising them." ”

(To be continued.) )