Category: Reptiles
This large reptile can reach lengths of 15 feet and a weight of almost 1000 pounds! They inhabit freshwater wetlands throughout the southeastern United States, with Louisiana and Florida boasting the highest numbers of wild American alligators. The holes they dig in their wetland environments form important habitat and sources of fresh water for other organisms.
http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/amphibians-reptiles-and-fish/american-alligator.aspx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator
The Tongue-tastic Chameleon
The Chameleon is known for its ability to change colors, but that is not the only amazing feature they possess. Chameleon tongues are twice the length of their bodies (can you imagine having a 10-12 foot long tongue?) and they use it for hunting! When it sees a tasty bug, the chameleon coils the muscles in its tongue in much the same way a hunter tightens the string on their bow, then the tongue shoots out, striking with incredible speed, sticking to the hapless insect as it is dragged back to the chameleon’s mouth. And believe it or not, smaller chamelons are sometimes even stronger and faster than their larger cousins: the tiny Rhampholeon spinosus’s tongue accelerates at a rate equivalent to your car going from 0-60 miles per hour in 1/100 of a second, and it rarely misses its target!
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Discover Animals is a web-based educational resource offered by the NAIA
