The reservoirs of eastern Crimea are inhabited by rare marsh turtle. Distinguish it from land species from the Balkans and the Caucasus you can use the membrane between your toes. Shell size marsh turtle approximately 15 centimeters. As the name itself suggests, it cannot live without water; feeds on all kinds of aquatic life, small fish, and plants. At night it sleeps at the bottom of a river or pond, and spends the winter there, buried in the mud. In the spring, turtles lay eggs in depressions on the banks of reservoirs. After two months, small, very active turtles are born and run headlong towards the water. Until next spring (until the shell hardens) they do not go onto land: it is too dangerous.

Fast lizard

Rock lizard found only in the Crimean mountains. She bravely and deftly jumps over rocks and even grabs prey (small insects) in flight.
In the steppe Crimea there is a large one (up to 12 cm), with a white stripe along the back. At the end of spring and beginning of summer, you can watch funny knightly tournaments of male lizards with bright green bellies for the attention of an inconspicuous, gray female.

Snake-like - the largest (up to 110 cm) Crimean legless lizard. Yellowbellies live in the mountains and on the coast, no further than Feodosia. They settle among rocks and stone rubble overgrown with grass, but closer to people. The eyes of the yellowbell, unlike snake eyes, are protected by eyelids with which the lizard blinks. On its abdomen one can find rudimentary rudiments of the hind limbs.

The yellow belly never bites a person, although it has excellent teeth and, as A. Bram wrote, can bite and swallow even an evil one. poisonous viper. The diet of this harmless lizard: insects, terrestrial mollusks (snails and slugs), ordinary lizards and small rodents. Helpful yellowbellies need to be protected.

The largest Crimean snake is yellow-bellied snake. When this snake crawls, its head is raised and its neck is arched, like the front of a sled, hence the name.

Less common, similar to yellowbellied four-lane runner. Both species are non-venomous, but dangerous due to their indomitable temperament. When disturbed, the snake fiercely defends itself, and when guarding a clutch of eggs, it can be the first to rush at a person to bite until blood is drawn. In the old days, snakes were called “the family of evil snakes.”


Leopard snake

Since ancient times it has lived on everything east coast, up to Sudak, the most beautiful of the Crimean snakes is the relict. Now it is on the verge of complete extermination.

copperhead- a small, beautiful non-venomous snake with a copper-red belly, up to 60 cm long. Its back is covered with longitudinal rows of dark spots, which on the neck and head merge into a pattern resembling a crown. Hence the Latin name for the copperhead - Coronella. This snake is not dangerous to humans. The copperhead lays eggs in which already developed baby snakes are visible through the transparent shell. All they have to do is break through the barrier and spread out, which happens very soon after laying eggs.

Common snake has two orange spots on the sides of its head. Feeding on frogs and toads, it readily swims, but catches mice and lizards far from the water.
Water snake slightly larger than usual (up to 120 cm), does not have characteristic spots on the head, and its abdomen is colored orange with black rectangular spots. It feeds on fish and leaves water bodies only for winter hibernation. Water snakes are found off the coast of Karadag, there are many of them on the coast Sea of ​​Azov. Snakes are harmless and peaceful.


Steppe viper

We may encounter it in unplowed areas and in forest belts. IN last years due to a decrease in the area of ​​cultivated land and less use of pesticides, the number of vipers has increased. In spring and summer, the viper catches small rodents; in the fall, most of its diet consists of insects, including those harmful to agriculture (for example, locusts), and small rodents. During the winter, vipers hibernate, hiding in holes called vipers. In March they usually wake up and crawl out to hunt.

The viper, like any other poisonous snake, on the sides of the head there are poisonous glands. They give the head a triangular shape. Unlike other Crimean snakes, the viper reproduces not by laying eggs, but by viviparity, and once a year, in July-August, brings 15-20 baby snakes, which immediately crawl away.

The character of the viper corresponds to its name. Extremely quarrelsome and vicious, she nevertheless avoids humans and can only bite in self-defense. If this happens, you need to apply a tourniquet above the bite site and try to suck out the poison. You can put a medical jar for this purpose. It is useless to burn the wound with fire. Without delay, consult a doctor; The bite is more dangerous the closer to the head. Although no deaths from viper bites have been registered in Crimea, last advice take it seriously.

This snake belongs to the snake family and therefore cannot be poisonous. The yellow-bellied snake is also called yellow-bellied or yellow-bellied. In Europe larger than a snake no, it can reach a length of two and a half meters. The yellowbelly crawls very quickly, has an elegant body and a relatively long tail. The upper part of the body is colored solid brown or almost black. On the back of young individuals there is one, and more often two, rows of spots.

dark in color, in some places they merge to form cross stripes. On the head, dark dots merge into a regular row. A number of small spots are also located on the sides of the snake. Its belly is grayish-white in color with yellow streaks located along the edges of the abdominal scutes.

Habitats

The yellow-bellied snake prefers to settle in dry places, basking in the daytime in areas exposed to the sun's rays. It is active only during daylight hours. It can hide in bushes, gardens, vineyards and ruins of buildings. In the mountains it is found up to an altitude of 2000 meters, where it hides among the rocks on rocky slopes. The yellow belly takes refuge not only among stones and thickets of bushes, but also in rodent burrows or tree hollows. He climbs branches well, but greater height doesn't climb. Although in general he is not afraid of heights and, if necessary, can jump down from a tree or cliff.

The snake is often found on the shores of water bodies, not because it likes to swim, but due to the presence large quantity food in coastal thickets. Sometimes the yellow-bellied snake crawls under a stack, wall or into an outbuilding.

Hunter and his prey

With keen vision, quick reaction and high speed movement, the snake is a successful hunter. The most common prey for snakes is small mammals, lizards and large insects, for example, locusts or their relatives. Destroys birds located on the ground or low on trees and bushes. The yellow-bellied snake has a fairly diverse menu, including lizards, snakes, birds, and rodents.

He even hunts vipers, sometimes receiving bites from them, but, apparently, he does not suffer much from this. Considering the intensity of the yellowbell's hunting, it can be argued that where it lives there are no traces of rodents.

Defensive Aggression

Usually, when confronted with a person, the yellow-bellied snake tries to quickly retreat. But after some time he will definitely return to former place, especially if his hideout is located there. If there is nowhere to retreat or a person comes close to his shelter, the snake boldly comes to his defense. At the same time, he not only demonstrates his aggressiveness, but also jumps towards the enemy. The wide gaping mouth, loud hissing and bold attack make an impression. A snake can even bite on some vulnerable spot. The bites are quite strong, but they The yellow-bellied snake is essentially a harmless creature, its aggressiveness is forced, and its evil disposition serves as protection from those who encroach on its territory.

The hero of this story about the Crimean fauna will be the yellow-bellied lizard. Have you heard of this? The yellowbell is a legless lizard that belongs to the order Squamate. The yellowbell belongs to the spindle family, genus - armored spindles.

The nature of Crimea is unique and inimitable. On this relatively small piece of earth, so many diverse “children” of Mother Nature live and grow! Everything is amazing here: flora, fauna, unusual landscapes, mysterious stories and beliefs local residents, attracting tourists from all over the world. The animals of Crimea deserve special mention.

What does a yellow-bellied lizard look like?

These reptiles are quite large in size. The body length of an adult yellowbell can reach 1.5 meters! The tail occupies most of the body. The animal has no neck at all; the head completely merges with the body. The muzzle has a narrowed shape at the end. The yellowbell is not a very flexible animal, because its entire body is covered with large scales that have a ribbed structure.

When the yellowtail grows, its skin turns brown and yellow, sometimes with spots, while young individuals have a more variegated color. The yellow-bellied belly is light-colored.


Zheltopuzik is a typical representative of the Crimean fauna.

Where else, besides the Crimean Peninsula, does the yellow legless lizard live?

On European territory, this reptile lives on the Balkan Peninsula. But in Malaya and Central Asia- This is a very common animal. In addition, the yellow belly lives in the Middle East. In our country, this lizard inhabits Crimea, Dagestan, Kalmykia and Stavropol.

Lifestyle and behavior of the yellowbell in nature

This representative of the squamate order prefers open areas, so it can be found in semi-deserts, on mountain slopes, in the steppe, in vineyards and woodlands. The yellow belly also loves to live in fields. IN mountainous area climbs to a height of 2300 meters above sea level.


Active life activities take place during daylight hours. This animal does not really gravitate towards damp and hidden places from the sun; on the contrary, most often it crawls out into the sun and spends time basking in dry, open clearings. But if the day is too hot, the yellowbell may hide in a thicket of bushes or a pile of stones.

However, the yellowbell still requires water, but for this it uses shallow waters. Having climbed into the water, he can sit in it for a long time, despite the fact that he hardly knows how to swim.

The lack of flexibility of the body does not prevent this amphibian from crawling at an impressive speed. In a day, a yellow belly can crawl into different directions over an area with a radius of 200 meters.

What is included in the diet of yellow Crimean lizards?

Yellowbellies feed mainly on mollusks. They love snails very much. And on the “dining table” of this legless lizard there are insects (various beetles), mice, toads, lizards, snakes, small chicks and even bird eggs. The yellow belly does not disdain carrion.


In addition to animal food, the legless lizard also includes some plants in its “menu”. She loves to eat apricots, grapes and other fruit crops.

Reproduction of yellow-bellied lizards

The female lays eggs. Typically, the masonry consists of 6 - 10 large eggs, which are covered with a white shell with an elastic structure. The size of one yellowbell egg is approximately 3 x 2 centimeters. Sometimes the female legless lizard very carefully guards her future cubs. To do this, she wraps herself around the clutch and “hatches” the eggs. After 6 weeks, little yellow-bellies are born; they are very tiny - no more than 10 centimeters in length.

What are the natural enemies of legless lizards?


Sometimes these animals become prey

He has no legs, so his appearance is very similar to a snake.

However, the yellowbell is easy to distinguish: its eyelids are movable and allow it to open and close its eyes. Snakes are deprived of this opportunity: their eyelids are always fused and form a transparent “window”. In addition, the lizard has a very long tail, about 1.5 times longer than the body.

The only reminder that the yellow-bellied ancestors once had legs are small papillae on the sides of the cloacal slit. These are rudiments of the hind limbs, probably not playing any role in the life of the lizard.

SUBCUTANEOUS ARMOR

The yellowtail is the only representative of the genus of armored spindles. Like other spindle lizards, its body is covered with large imbricated scales, and the ventral scutes differ little from the dorsal scutes in shape and size. Under this horny cover lie osteoderms (skin ossifications), due to which the yellow-bellied body is hard and elastic to the touch. They form an almost continuous openwork and limitedly movable bone shell, similar to chain mail. Hence the name of the genus - armored spindles. There is a gap between the abdominal and dorsal parts of this cover, due to which longitudinal folds of skin hang on the sides of the yellow-bellied skin, running from the base of the head to the cloacal slit. They allow the lizard to move very quickly, and in addition, to increase the volume of the body when swallowing large prey, and for females when carrying eggs. The short tongue of the yellow-bellied tongue, more or less deeply cut at the front end, consists of two segments of different sizes, and the lizard can retract the thin front part into a special vagina inside the thicker rear part.

SOUTHERN SHELLFISHER

The yellowbell is found from the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor and Western Asia in the west, to Iraq in the east. Lives on south coast Crimea, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Southern Asia. Inhabits various biotopes: from floodplain thickets and foothill woodlands to steppes, semi-deserts and rocky slopes. Often lives near bodies of water; in case of danger, it can go into the water and swims well. Does not avoid human proximity, developing gardens and vineyards. The lizard is active during the day; it spends the dark time of day and the hottest hours of the day in shelters: rodent burrows, voids under stones, dense thickets of bushes.

The yellowbell is omnivorous. Strong jaws and powerful, blunt teeth allow him to easily cope with large insects, and with ground gastropods, often forming the basis of his diet. Even large grape snails with a strong shell are defenseless against it. The yellowbell's prey can include mouse-like rodents, bird eggs and chicks, small lizards and snakes. Sometimes he also uses plant foods, such as apricot carrion and grape berries.

In turn, these lizards, despite their large size and bony “chain mail,” often become prey birds of prey and mammals. A yellowtail with a tail damaged or torn off by someone is a fairly common sight. In some populations, the proportion of such individuals can reach up to 50%. Interestingly, the tail of armored spindles is not brittle: to tear it off or bite it off, you need to make a lot of effort. It doesn’t grow back again, it remains dull, as if chopped off. Lizards with short tails can no longer move as quickly on the ground and crawl onto the lower branches of trees and bushes as their healthy counterparts.

CARING MOTHER

Males of this reptile are found in nature approximately 2-4 times more often than females, who spend more time in shelters. Soon after wintering, which lasts from October-November to March-April, the breeding season begins for yellowbellies. The male actively searches for the female and holds her head with his jaws during mating. In June-July, the lizard lays eggs in a hole or other shelter. There are from 6 to 12 of them in one clutch, they weigh about 20 g and are covered with a dense leathery shell.

The cubs, 10-12.5 cm long, hatch in August-September. They are colored differently than adults: on a yellowish-gray background there is a pattern of dark transverse zigzag stripes extending onto the head and tail. This coloring is retained in lizards up to 20 cm long and gradually changes from moult to adult.

It is extremely difficult to see cubs even in those places where the population of the species is quite large and 5-10 adult individuals can be found per day. This is probably due to their secretive lifestyle. In addition, females do not participate in reproduction every year, which means that the number of cubs is not so large. Puberty in yellow-bellied animals it occurs at the age of 3-4 years with a body length exceeding 30 cm.

YELLOWBELLY AND MAN

Because of external resemblance With the snake of this large, but completely harmless lizard, an encounter with a person sometimes ends in death for it. A caught yellowbell tries to slip out of the hands, wriggling with its entire body or quickly rotating in one direction. At the same time, a characteristic creak of bone armor plates rubbing against each other is heard. Despite its powerful jaws, the yellowbell almost never bites. Its only defense is to spray foul-smelling liquid feces, causing it to abandon the “dirty” lizard.

There are known cases of illegal catching and sale of yellowbellies for keeping in terrariums by unscrupulous pet dealers. Many lizards die on roads under the wheels of cars, as well as in various wells, trenches and similar structures, where they fall and cannot get out. The species is included in the Red Books of Kazakhstan and; in Russia - in the Red Books Krasnodar region, Ingushetia, North Ossetia and Kalmykia.

The female yellowbell protects the eggs she lays in a dark, damp shelter, wrapping her body around them. Such care for offspring is extremely atypical for lizards.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Type: reptiles
Order: lizards.
Family: spindle lizards.
Genus: armored spindles.
Species: yellowbell.
Latin name: Pseudopus apodus.
Size: body length with tail - up to 125 cm.
Weight: up to 500 g.
Color: yellow-red-brown, belly is lighter.
Life expectancy of a yellow belly: up to 30 years.

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The yellowbell is a legless lizard that is often mistaken for a snake. The long body of the reptile, growing up to 100 cm in length, and its characteristic manner of movement can indeed be misleading. But if you look closely, next to the creature’s anus you can see tiny growths on the sides - these are the rudiments of the hind limbs.

The yellowbell is often confused with a snake, as this lizard has no limbs.

Structural features and lifestyle

A distinctive feature of the yellow-bellied lizard is that this lizard has no legs, although it has rudimentary processes in the anal area. Outwardly, it looks more like a snake, which has a long, wriggling body. An adult grows up to one meter, although some representatives of this species can reach 1.5 m in length. There are ear openings on the tetrahedral head, which indicate that the yellowbell is not a snake.

The skin of a lizard consists of scales, the particles of which fit tightly to each other. There are skin folds on both sides of the body. As for the color, it is always monochromatic, although it can be olive, red-brown or yellowish-brown in color. Juveniles under two years of age have stripes on their bodies that may look like zigzags. Their color is always gray-yellow. In addition, all reptiles of this species have an abdomen that is slightly lighter than the main color of the scales.

The yellow-bellied lizard goes into hibernation every autumn and awakens only in early spring. In summer, during the daytime, the reptile prefers to rest, choosing a sunny place on the rocks, but in the early morning or after dusk it goes hunting.

Like other representatives of reptiles, the yellowbell molts, but sheds its skin in small pieces. Like his relatives, he knows how to throw off his tail, which he does in any danger. After some time, the tail grows back, but is shorter and slightly curved.

IN natural environment The yellow-bellied diet includes:

  • insects;
  • invertebrates;
  • small vertebrates;
  • some fruits;
  • bird eggs.

If the yellowbell caught big catch, then he chews it thoroughly and only then swallows it, unlike a snake, which does it right away. After the food is eaten, the folds of skin on its sides are smoothed out.

Reproduction process

Lizards always mate after hibernation when they emerge from suspended animation. Typically, this period lasts from March to May. There are no gender differences in this species of reptile, so only specialists can determine the gender after conducting a series of studies. Because of this, it is extremely difficult to propagate yellowbellies at home.


Lizards always mate after hibernation, when they emerge from suspended animation.

In the first month of summer, the female lays eggs; on average, she can lay 6-10 eggs. The shape of the eggs is oval, the size is about 2 cm in transverse diameter, 4 cm in longitudinal diameter. The lizard usually immediately tries to hide them in the foliage, while carefully watching them and guarding them until the young emerge. This period lasts from 35 to 60 days.

The optimal temperature for embryo development is +30 °C. When born, the cubs are up to 12 cm long, excluding the tail. Puberty occurs in the fourth year of life. As a rule, the individual has already grown to 0.5 m by this time. Average duration The lifespan of yellowbellies in the natural environment reaches 30-35 years.

Habitats

Yellowbellies have an extremely limited geographic distribution. They can be found in South-West and Central Asia. In addition, they are localized in Europe, but only in its eastern part. Depending on their habitat, they are divided into the western species (these yellowbellies are much longer and larger than their relatives from the East) and the eastern one, whose representatives look normal.

These reptiles can live in different places. Some choose steppes and semi-deserts as their homes, others prefer to settle on high mountains and river valleys, and still others even dig minks in fertile lands where rice, grapes or cotton are grown. By the way, the yellow belly can easily exist in water - in it it often hides from all kinds of enemies.

The yellowtail can exist both in water and on land.

At home, such lizards are kept alone and connected only in mating season. For an adult reptile you will need a horizontal terrarium, its parameters should be:

  • length - from 100 cm;
  • width - from 60 cm;
  • height - 50 cm.

For creating ideal conditions It is necessary to place river sand mixed with fine gravel at the bottom of the tank. In addition, a drinking bowl and a separate container with water are installed in the terrarium so that the reptile can swim in it if desired.

Yellow Tummy loves bright light and needs ultraviolet rays, so you will need to install special lamps. But you shouldn’t place them too close to the tank, otherwise your legless pet will get burns. Temperature also important for your pet. During the daytime, the air should warm up to +30 °C, and at night it should drop to +20 °C. As for humidity, it is better to keep it at 60%. In addition, it is necessary to build special shelters in the terrarium. Suitable for this:

  • small driftwood;
  • clay and ceramic elements;
  • medium sized stones;
  • tree bark.


As for feeding, the diet of yellowbellies must include live food in the form of insects; you can feed them mice, snails, earthworms, and bird eggs. It is allowed to periodically feed pets with fruit and vegetable slices, mixing them with curd mass or boiled eggs.

In addition, you need to regularly add mineral supplements in the form of bone meal, you can also use calcium glycerophosphate, but it must be served with soft food.

At the end of autumn, it is necessary to create conditions for the yellowbelly in which it could hibernate. This can be done by gradually reducing the air temperature to +5 °C. It is also necessary to stop feeding your pet exactly two weeks before anabiosis.

The legless lizard brings many benefits. It destroys many small pests that cause harm agriculture, destroying the plantings. Don't be afraid of her: Unlike the snake, the yellowbell is non-venomous. He is a completely harmless reptile.