Agama steppe development of claws. Agama steppe. Enemies of steppe agamas

“Study of the adaptability of organisms to their environment”
Goal of the work: consider, using specific examples, the adaptability of organisms to their environment.

Equipment: a table showing different types of insect limbs, a picture of animals from the same genus, sources of additional information, keys or identification cards.
Progress

1. 
   Consider Various types limbs of insects (running, jumping, swimming, digging). Give examples of insects that have these types of limbs. What do their structures have in common? What's different? Explain the reasons for these differences.

1. 
   Look at the images of the animals offered to you. Fill the table.

3. Draw a conclusion about the adaptability of specific living organisms to living conditions.

1.
A - running (ant limb)

B- jumping (grasshopper limb)

B- digging (limb of the mole cricket)

G- swimming (limb of a swimming beetle)

The limbs are used to move insects. Differences in the structure of the limbs depend on the diverse specialization of insect life, on environment.

For example: the jumping limb has powerful muscles, the running limbs are longer than the digging limbs.
Agama Caucasian
2.

Agama steppe

Conclusion: organisms adapt to specific environmental conditions. This can be verified at specific example agam. Means of protecting organisms - camouflage, protective coloration, mimicry, behavioral adaptations and other types of adaptations allow organisms to protect themselves and their offspring.

Despite its name, the steppe agama does not live in true salt marsh steppes. This large and highly visible lizard prefers the arid climate of deserts and semi-deserts.

Agamas are a fairly large family, including more than 400 species found throughout Eastern Hemisphere. These lizards occupy different ecological niches and are therefore quite diverse in their appearance and structure. main feature of this family, distinguishing its representatives from most other reptiles are teeth different shapes: incisors, canines and molars, as in mammals.

BREAKING AREA

The steppe agama has a vast range, consisting of two unequal parts. The smaller, European one, is located in the Ciscaucasia, in the semi-desert regions of Dagestan, Chechnya and the Stavropol Territory. Large, Asian, covers South, Central Asia, northern parts of Afghanistan, as well as the northwest. Scientists believe that a range gap of more than 600 km for this and some other reptile species occurred during the Khvalynsk transgression of the Caspian Sea, which ended about 7 thousand years ago. Then the sea (formerly called Khvalynsky) overflowed and flooded vast territories to the north of its modern borders. However, it remains unclear why some species subsequently managed to successfully colonize Caspian lowland and restore a single habitat, while others do not.

I SITT HIGH, I LOOK FAR

The steppe agama is the only species of lowland agama that lives in Kazakhstan. Like all representatives of this genus, it is a bisexual, oviparous, medium-sized lizard, active during daylight hours. It has a round body, covered with uniform ribbed scales, a high head and a rather short muzzle. It does not have occipital or dorsal-caudal ridges, like all plain agamas. There is usually a throat pouch on the neck, which is especially well developed in males. This lizard lives in sandy, clayey and rocky deserts and semi-deserts, preferring areas with shrub vegetation. It can also be found on gentle rocky slopes in the foothills, along the edges of loose sands, along river banks, on the outskirts of settlements and irrigated fields. The lizard rises to the mountains to a height of 1200 m above sea level (Kopet Dag, Turkmenistan).

Agamas use burrows of rodents, hedgehogs and turtles, voids under stones and cracks in the soil as shelters. These reptiles lead a terrestrial and semi-arboreal lifestyle. In the heat of the day, lizards either sit in shelters or climb onto the branches of bushes, protecting themselves from overheating on the hot sun soil. They are able to jump from branch to branch at a distance of up to 50 cm. Agamas are territorial. Males, sitting on a hill, survey their individual territory and protect it from the invasion of competitors. One, or less often two or three, females live in the male’s domain.

FLOWER FOR DESSERT

The diet of agamas consists of beetles, butterflies, ants and many other insects, as well as arachnids.

Their lizards hunt both on the surface of the soil and on the branches of bushes. However, in addition to this, they willingly eat plant foods: leaves, stems and flowers of some plants. Their share can range from 20 to 40% of the total diet.

In turn, in nature, agamas often become prey for snakes, monitor lizards, birds of prey and animals, for example long-eared hedgehog, corsac or fox. Ornithologists have more than once observed how buzzards grab lizards sitting on the tops of bushes. As a widespread and abundant reptile species, the steppe agama occupies an important place in the food chain.

CONTINUATION

2-3 weeks after leaving wintering, which lasts from October to March, males acquire bright mating coloring and demonstrate it by puffing out their throats, rising on their front legs and nodding their heads. Females confirm their readiness to mate by clinging to the ground. After 35-45 days, they lay 4 to 18 eggs, digging a cone-shaped hole in the sand. Having completed the clutch, the female crawls out of the hole and fills up the outer passage. After another 50-60 days, the eggs hatch into cubs, which begin to actively feed immediately after the yolk reserve is assimilated. During the season, the female usually makes 2-3 clutches. Young agamas reach sexual maturity in the second year of life.

Like some tropical lizards and chameleons, the steppe agama is capable of dramatically changing the intensity of color depending on its physiological state and “mood.” Thus, in excited males or well-warmed in the sun, the throat, limbs and sides of the body become dark blue, and the tail becomes orange-yellow. In females, the back is covered with bright rusty-red spots.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Class: reptiles.
Order: lizards.
Family: agamidae lizards.
Genus: plain agamas.
Species: steppe agama.
Latin name: Trapelus sanguinolentus.
Size: body length with tail - up to 30 cm.
Coloring: in adults, in a calm state, yellowish-gray; in juveniles, the upperparts are brownish-gray with light spots, the belly is light with numerous dark stripes and spots.
Agama lifespan: up to 10 years.

This family of lizards, very variegated in appearance and lifestyle, has over 300 species. They are distributed throughout warm and temperate regions of the whole world, excluding the island of Madagascar. Among them there are both arboreal forms with a slender, laterally compressed body and long legs, and short-legged terrestrial species with a noticeably flattened body. Their tail is long and, with few exceptions, unbreakable. The eyes are well developed, with a round pupil. The fauna of the CIS is home to 15 species of this family.

Agama steppe.
This is the most numerous species lizards inhabiting semi-deserts and deserts of Kazakhstan, Central Asia, semi-deserts in the Northern Caspian region.
Steppe agama - lizard average size, body length is usually 11-12 cm, males are larger than females. The head is large and heart-shaped. The tail is rounded, gradually tapering towards the end. The general color of the upper body is light yellow, the underparts are light gray to white. With age, the color changes. When the temperature rises or under the influence of nervous tension, the modest coloring of adult agamas is amazingly transformed. In males, first the throat, then the sides of the body, then the bottom and lastly the legs become dark blue. They have bright blue spots on their backs, and their tails are colored fiery yellow with dark rings. In the female, the “recoloration” is of a slightly different type: the overall color of the body becomes bluish or greenish-yellow. The dorsal spots become bright orange. Lives in a variety of places with sparse vegetation, avoids shifting sands. Hides in holes, cracks and voids between stones. It deftly climbs low trees and dry grasses. Males of the steppe and many other species of agamas jealously protect their once chosen site from the encroachments of other males. In nature, another male who accidentally wanders in usually runs away without getting into a fight. In a terrarium, two adult males will never get along peacefully, so they need to be seated immediately. The agama runs deftly and quickly, keeping its body raised above the ground and without touching the ground with its tail.
Better conditions for willingly running agamas, they are obtained in a spacious, dry, horizontal terrarium with lighting and good heating up to 35°C during the day. But the steppe agama also lives at a daytime temperature of 28°C. At night the temperature should be 5-10°C lower. The soil is periodically moistened from below. Dry branches are installed in the terrarium. The food is common for lizards, but the adult steppe agama also eats the juicy pulp of many fruits and vegetables. Mating occurs in spring months. The female, starting in mid-spring, lays two or three times with a total of 3-20 eggs. At a temperature of 25-30°C, incubation takes place in 48-50 days. Hatched lizards have an interesting coloring that is different from adults. The initial size of juveniles is 3-4 cm.

Agama Caucasian.
Distributed in many places in the Caucasus, as well as in the mountainous areas of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. The Caucasian agama, unlike the steppe agama, represents a different group - mountain agamas. The Caucasian agama lives on dry rocky, clayey or limestone slopes or in blocks of stones with sparse vegetation. This agama is a real mountain animal. The dimensions are relatively large, the length of the body and tail together is 20-23 cm. Its typical color is relatively modest, olive-gray-brown tones predominate, and a mesh pattern of dark streaks and lines usually runs along the sides of the back. It is characteristic that, both in nature and in terrariums, the overall color of the Caucasian agama depends on the color of the soil. The blacker the litter, the darker, up to coal-black with a brownish sheen, the agamas become.
These agamas are also kept in horizontal terrariums. The air is dry, warm; 25-30°C during the day and 15-20°C at night. Stones with cracks are placed in the terrarium to shelter the lizards. They also provide a “hot spot” with a temperature of 40-45°C, where agamas appear from time to time for additional warming up. Food, as for the previous species. If breeding is planned, winter months the temperature is lowered by 10-15°C. Mating occurs in the spring months. During the season (May-June) the female lays 4-14 eggs. At a temperature of 30° C, incubation takes 45-55 days.
Agamas, like many other lizards, are shy creatures. Mountain agamas, including the Caucasian one, at the slightest danger quickly hide in the tightest crevices between stones. When trying to pull them out, they inflate their body and push with all their might. In severe panic, the agama gets so stuck in uncomfortable crevices that it is often unable to get back out. This must also be taken into account when laying stones in the terrarium, avoiding the formation of cracks - “traps” and at the same time - rolling of stones.

Roundhead eared.
This is the most characteristic lizard sandy deserts and semi-deserts in the south of the lower Volga region, Central Asia and Kazakhstan.
Representatives of the genus of roundheads, and there are only about 40 species of them, differ from other agamas by a short head rounded at the front, a wide flattened body and a relatively short tail, flattened at the base and capable of curling onto the back. The long-eared roundhead got its name because of two skin folds with fringe along the edges, located in the corners of the mouth. The color of the roundhead is in harmony with the color of the soil where it lives. On top it is sand-colored with a grayish and yellowish coating, against which there is a thin mesh pattern of spots, lines, and dashes. The underparts are milky white with a dark spot on the chest. The tip of the tail is black below. The long-eared roundhead is the most major representative of this genus, its total length (including tail) reaches 24 cm.
In cases of danger and the impossibility of escaping, the long-eared roundhead takes on a “menacing” frightening pose: it spreads its legs wide, inflates and tenses its entire body, at the same time, it opens its mouth wide, while the “ears” open, the mucous membranes become filled with blood and become bright red. During the intimidation, she trembles nervously, and even jumps. But if the predator is not afraid of this, the roundhead buries itself in the sand with quick movements of its tail and body. In general, the roundhead likes to burrow into the sand in different situations: for the night, in extreme heat, etc.
Round heads are kept in spacious terrariums with fine sandy soil, spread in a layer of 10-20 cm. Relative humidity air 20-30%, temperature during the day 28-30°C, at night 22-24°C, in the “hot spots” - up to 38°C. Moistening the sand from below. Like all desert lizards, the long-eared roundhead loves intense light. Roundheads are fed insects and their larvae. Mating occurs from May to mid-summer. Eggs are usually laid twice, each containing 2-6 eggs. Eggs are laid deep in a burrow or in moist sand. At a temperature of 30°C, incubation takes place in 40-50 days.
In the same terrarium conditions, you can also keep the round-headed takyr, a small lizard that lives in natural conditions Caspian region, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Kazakhstan.
In a terrarium for this species, the soil should consist of a mixture of clay, sand and gravel.

African and Indian spinytails.
These vegetarians cannot be called particularly beautiful (their main skin color is gray various shades; yellowish, green or blue polka dots bring some life to the coloring of their skin), but they have a very original, friendly character, which reveals that their fear-inducing appearance is just a deception. In the wild, they protect themselves from enemies with the help of a spiky tail and powerful jaws, but, being under the protection of humans, they lose their already not pronounced fighting qualities. They become trusting and allow their caregiver to pet and hand-feed them.
Yellow dandelions are his main plant foods. Lettuce, clover, pieces of apples, pears, tomatoes, coarsely grated carrots, rice and millet also belong to its diet. They are very susceptible to additives of animal origin, since we must not forget that in early age they had a jaw adapted for gnawing insects, which over time was transformed for gnawing green food, but remained, surprisingly, just as strong. For example, he chews dry peas without any effort.
Spinytails should live in a spacious, heated terrarium. A heated floor is required for such a terrarium, since spinytails are desert dwellers. In addition, an infrared ray emitter is also needed. At night, the heating should be turned off, since hot days and cool nights correspond to the natural conditions of its habitat.
The internal equipment of the terrarium should be very simple: a thick layer of sand mixed with stones and pebbles, in which agamas happily build sand towers.

Description

The total length of the steppe agama does not exceed 30 cm, with the length of the body with head up to 12 cm, the tail is 1.3-2 times longer than body. Body weight up to 45 g (according to other sources up to 62 g). IN Ciscaucasia Agamas are smaller compared to Central Asian ones: their body length is up to 8.5 cm, weight up to 27 g. Adult males are noticeably longer than females and have a preanal callus. The upper head scutes are slightly convex and unribbed. The occipital scute, on which the parietal eye is located, is the same size as the surrounding scutes. The nostrils are located at the back of the nasal shields and are almost invisible from above. Upper labial scutes 15-19. The small external ear opening is well defined, in the depth of which there is a eardrum. Above it there are 2-5 elongated spiny scales. The body scales are uniform (this is how the steppe agama differs from the closely related ruin agama), diamond-shaped, ribbed, smooth only on the throat, the dorsal scales are large, with sharp spines, the tail scales are arranged in oblique rows and do not form transverse rings.

The color of young agamas is light gray on top with a row of light gray, more or less oval spots running along the ridge, spreading to the base of the tail, and two rows of the same elongated spots on the sides of the body. Between the spots of adjacent rows there are larger dark brown or dark gray spots. There are faint darker transverse stripes on the upper side of the legs and on the tail. With the onset of maturity, the color changes, and adult lizards become gray or yellowish-gray. In males, the dark spots almost completely disappear, and the light gray spots become darker; in females, the juvenile coloring is generally retained.

With increasing temperature, as well as in an excited state, the color of adult agamas changes and becomes very bright. In this case, there is a clear sexual dimorphism in color. In males, the throat, belly, sides and limbs become dark or even black-blue, cobalt blue spots appear on the back, and the tail becomes bright yellow or orange-yellow. Females become bluish or greenish-yellow, the dark spots on the back become orange or rusty orange, and the legs and tail acquire the same but less bright colors as those of males. However, agamas from Ciscaucasia do not have the described color differences between the sexes.

Range and habitats

The steppe agama is common in deserts And semi-deserts Eastern Ciscaucasia (Russia), South Kazakhstan , Central Asia, Northern and North-Eastern Iran, Northern Afghanistan, Northwestern China. In Central Asia, the northern border of the range runs from east coast Caspian Sea A little south of the river Emba, goes around the Mugodjar Mountains from the south and through the lower reaches of the river Turgai and the valley of the middle reaches of the river Sarysu descends to the northern shore of the lake Balkhash, further reaching the foothills Tarbagatay. Through river valleys it penetrates into the foothills Tien Shan And Pamir-Alai meeting in the vicinity of cities Osh V Kyrgyzstan and Chubek in South-West Tajikistan.

Lives in sandy, clayey and rocky deserts and semi-deserts, preferring places with shrubby or semi-woody vegetation. It is also found on gentle rocky slopes in foothills(V Kopetdag known up to an altitude of 1200 m above sea level), along the edges of weakly consolidated sands, along river banks and in tugai forests, often in close proximity to water, near populated areas and along roadsides.

In the Asian part of its range, the steppe agama is one of the most common lizards of the steppes and deserts, its average number is about 10 individuals/ha, in the spring in colonies gerbils up to 60. In the Eastern Ciscaucasia, the range of this species is very small and is constantly declining, the number is low, which is due to the rather harsh conditions for steppe agamas climatic conditions and intense anthropogenic impact.

Lifestyle

After wintering, steppe agamas appear in mid-February - early April, depending on the area of ​​distribution; males leave their winter shelters earlier than females. They leave for the winter at the end of October. In spring and autumn, lizards are active in the middle of the day, in summer in the morning and evening. The periods of maximum activity of adults and juveniles usually do not coincide. Deftly climbing trunks and branches, agamas often climb onto the branches of bushes, protecting themselves from overheating on the hot sand in the hottest part of the day and escaping from enemies; the males survey their area, protecting it from the invasion of other males. In the eastern Karakum they sometimes even spend the night on bushes. They are capable of jumping from branch to branch at a distance of up to 80 cm. Agamas run on the ground very quickly, keeping their body raised on outstretched legs and not touching the ground with their tail. In villages they can be seen running along the vertical surfaces of adobe and stone fences and walls of buildings. Steppe agamas use burrows as shelters gerbils , jerboas , gophers , hedgehogs , turtles, voids under stones and cracks in the ground. Less often, they dig their own burrows, located between the roots or at the base of stones. Each adult lizard has a relatively small habitat area, beyond which it very rarely goes. Demonstrative behavior includes squatting combined with rhythmic head nodding.

Nutrition

The steppe agama feeds mainly on a variety of insects, mainly beetles And ants, and spiders , centipedes , woodlice and succulent parts of plants, in particular flowers, leaves and stems. Lizards deftly capture insects with their sticky tongue.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity occurs in the second year of life with a body length of 6.5-8.0 cm. During the breeding season, sexually mature males climb to the upper branches of bushes, from where the area is clearly visible. When a rival appears, the owner quickly descends to meet him and drives the newcomer away. During this period, males and females usually stay in pairs; one, rarely two or three females live in the male’s area. Mating usually occurs in April. At the end of April - beginning of June, the female lays eggs in a cone-shaped hole 3-5 cm deep dug in loose soil or in a hole. The volume of clutch depends on the age of the female. 1-2 repeated layings per season are possible. The second clutch in Central Asia occurs in mid-June - early July, the third, if there is one, in mid-late July. During the season, the female lays 4-18 eggs measuring 9-13 x 18-21 mm in three or four portions. The incubation period lasts 50-60 days, young lizards 29-40 mm long and weighing 0.95-2.22 g appear from the second half of June until late autumn.

Subspecies

• Trapelus sanguinolentus sanguinolentus- nominative subspecies, lives in Russia in the Eastern Ciscaucasia isolated from the main range within Chechnya , Dagestan (Nogai steppe) And Stavropol Territory ;
• Trapelus sanguinolentus aralensis- East Caspian subspecies, distributed throughout the rest of the species’ extensive range.

Type area of ​​the species: Qom-Ankatar in the valley Terek.

Steppe agamas are kept in horizontal terrariums at a temperature of +28...+30 °C during the day (under a heater up to +35 °C), +20...+25 °C at night and low humidity. Sand with moisture from below is used as soil. Branches on which agamas spend a lot of time must be placed. Since males are mating season Very pugnacious, steppe agamas are best kept in groups of one male and several females. They feed mainly on insects and also apples , oranges , bananas , salad And sprouts oats, which they also eat well. Mating in March - May. Starting in April, the female lays 4-18 eggs in 2-3 portions. Thus, pregnancy lasts about 40 days. Incubation of eggs at a temperature of +27...+28 °C lasts 50-52 days.

Photo

Notes

Literature

• Bannikov A. G., Darevsky I. S., Ishchenko V. G., Rustamov A. K., Shcherbak N. N. Key to amphibians and reptiles of the fauna of the USSR. - M.: Education, 1977. - P. 105-108. - 415 s.
• Ananyeva N. B., Orlov N. L., Khalikov R. G., Darevsky I. S., Ryabov S. A., Barabanov A. V. Atlas of reptiles of Northern Eurasia (taxonomic diversity, geographical distribution and conservation status). - St. Petersburg: Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2004. - P. 53. - ISBN 5-98092-007-2
• Life of animals. Volume 5. Amphibians, Reptiles / Ed. A. G. Bannikova. - 2nd ed. - M.: Education, 1985.
• Kudryavtsev S.V., Frolov V.E., Korolev A.V. Terrarium and its inhabitants (review of species and maintenance in captivity). - M.: Forestry industry, 1991. - P. 283. - 349 p. ISBN 5-7120-018-2