SALTWATER CROCODILE (Crocodylus porosus)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodylia
Family: Crocodylidae
Genus: Crocodylus
Species: C. porosus
The Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest of all living reptiles. It is a dangerous crocodile occurring in estuaries and coastal waters from southwestern India to northern Australia. Occasionally, saltwater crocodiles does attack and kill humans.
Saltwater crocodiles have been reported to grow up to 7 metres, even though in average they grow to 4 metres long. In average, they weighted 450 kg, although some specimens reached 1,000 kg. Moreover, they are known to be excellent swimmers, and have been spotted far out of sea.
Saltwater crocodiles are very opportunistic, and formidable. The classiness of hunting their foods; they lurk patiently beneath the surface near the water’s edge, waiting for the prey to take a sip from the water. They can eat anything that fit with their jaws, even a buffalo, boars, and sharks. When they have successfully targeted a prey, in a second, they will explode from the water with a thrash from their tails, grabbing their victims, dragging out to the water and drown them while the predators are holding it.
Saltwater crocodile are considered at low risk for extinction. Their population range from 200,000 to 300,000 worldwide. Although, saltwater crocodiles has been hunted for their hides. Several illegal hunting, habitat loss, and antipathy keep continuously puts pressure toward the species.
By: Diemas Ekakarina Prihandini
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodylia
Family: Crocodylidae
Genus: Crocodylus
Species: C. porosus
The Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest of all living reptiles. It is a dangerous crocodile occurring in estuaries and coastal waters from southwestern India to northern Australia. Occasionally, saltwater crocodiles does attack and kill humans.
Saltwater crocodiles have been reported to grow up to 7 metres, even though in average they grow to 4 metres long. In average, they weighted 450 kg, although some specimens reached 1,000 kg. Moreover, they are known to be excellent swimmers, and have been spotted far out of sea.
Saltwater crocodiles are very opportunistic, and formidable. The classiness of hunting their foods; they lurk patiently beneath the surface near the water’s edge, waiting for the prey to take a sip from the water. They can eat anything that fit with their jaws, even a buffalo, boars, and sharks. When they have successfully targeted a prey, in a second, they will explode from the water with a thrash from their tails, grabbing their victims, dragging out to the water and drown them while the predators are holding it.
Saltwater crocodile are considered at low risk for extinction. Their population range from 200,000 to 300,000 worldwide. Although, saltwater crocodiles has been hunted for their hides. Several illegal hunting, habitat loss, and antipathy keep continuously puts pressure toward the species.
By: Diemas Ekakarina Prihandini
SEA SNAKES // hydrophiinae
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vetebrata
Class: Reptillia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Subfamily: Hydrophiinae
Since Sea snakes are cold-blooded reptiles, mostly they can be found in warm tropical waters. They inhabit muddy estuaries but some of the like clear water near reefs. They can adapt to breathe, feed, breed and grow in the open sea. Sea snake have a flat tail that acts as a paddle to help them swim. Surprisingly they’re remarkable divers that can dive to 100 meters or more. Though they’re great swimmer in the ocean, they are completely helpless on land. Their nostrils are located on top of their snout and closed by the valves. In water, their valves will close to prevent water from entering their lungs. Sea snake can stay submerged for about 30 minutes. They have a special gland under their tongue that concentrates and excretes excess salt water from their body. sea snakes inject venom from their bites to kill a prey. They tend to be fussy eaters, some only eat catfish, some on eels, fish, prawns, carbs and worms.
Interesting fact!
In Western Australia, sea snakes are found with at least 22 species. 6 out of 22 are found in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. The three most common sea snakes found in Shark Bay are; olive-headed sea snake, bar-bellied or elegant sea snake and Shark Bay sea snake.
Sea snakes are common in the Shark Bay Marine Park, Ningaloo Marine Park, Montebello Islands Marine Park and Rowley Shoals Marine park.
Sea snakes also protected under Western Australia’s Wildlife Conservation Act.
BY: VICKY KIRKPATRICK
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vetebrata
Class: Reptillia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Subfamily: Hydrophiinae
Since Sea snakes are cold-blooded reptiles, mostly they can be found in warm tropical waters. They inhabit muddy estuaries but some of the like clear water near reefs. They can adapt to breathe, feed, breed and grow in the open sea. Sea snake have a flat tail that acts as a paddle to help them swim. Surprisingly they’re remarkable divers that can dive to 100 meters or more. Though they’re great swimmer in the ocean, they are completely helpless on land. Their nostrils are located on top of their snout and closed by the valves. In water, their valves will close to prevent water from entering their lungs. Sea snake can stay submerged for about 30 minutes. They have a special gland under their tongue that concentrates and excretes excess salt water from their body. sea snakes inject venom from their bites to kill a prey. They tend to be fussy eaters, some only eat catfish, some on eels, fish, prawns, carbs and worms.
Interesting fact!
In Western Australia, sea snakes are found with at least 22 species. 6 out of 22 are found in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. The three most common sea snakes found in Shark Bay are; olive-headed sea snake, bar-bellied or elegant sea snake and Shark Bay sea snake.
Sea snakes are common in the Shark Bay Marine Park, Ningaloo Marine Park, Montebello Islands Marine Park and Rowley Shoals Marine park.
Sea snakes also protected under Western Australia’s Wildlife Conservation Act.
BY: VICKY KIRKPATRICK
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Reptilia
- Order: Testudines
- Family: Cheloniidae
- Genus: Natator
- Species: depressus (referred to as depressa in the World Register of Marine Species)
Flatback sea turtle (Natator depressus) primarily live on the continental shelf of Australia beaches, Papua New Guinea in the Pacific and Indonesia. In 1980’s scientists found that flatback sea turtle were at different classification with Kemp’s ridley or green sea turtle and they are genetically distinct species.
The Australian flatback turtles are carnivores and feed on invertebrates such as jellyfish, sea pens, sea cucumbers, crustaceans and molluscs. They can grows to about 3 feet in length with 150-200 pound weighs. They have gray or olive color flat carapace and pale yellow bottom shell (plastron). Their carapace is soft and often to turns up at its edge. There is a single pair of prefrontal scales on their triangular head. The carapace has 5 central scutes and 4 pairs of lateral scutes.
Flatback turtles nest from western Australia to Queensland. Both male and female mating offshore and often result in bites and scratches in female soft skin, which will heal later. The female come ashore to lay their eggs. They dig a nest about 2 feet deep. According to Limpus et al. (1988) the flatback nests up to 4 times per seasons at 13-18 day intervals and lay relatively small clutches of eggs (average 50).
The eggs weight about 77 g, its quite large for a medium-sized turtle. It took 48-66 days for them to incubate. The time is depends on the temperature of the nest, the warmer it is then the eggs will hatch sooner. The baby turtles weigh 1.5 ounces when they hatch and carry undigested yolk, which will nourish them during their initial time at the sea. Once they reach the ocean, they do not go into deeper waters like the other sea turtle species, but stay in shallow waters along the coast. Flatback sea turtle nest was vulnerable from other predators such as salt-water crocodiles, lizards, birds and crabs.
Sea turtles are threatened with capture, eggs harvesting, destruction of nesting beaches, ocean pollution, oil spills and entanglement in fishing and shrimp nest.
Now Natator depressus are listed as vulnerable species under the Australian Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act. International listed as Data Deficient by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Was previously listed as vulnerable. Change in classification does not imply species recovery, it just indicates a lack of recent research into their abundance and distribution.
By. Aisyah Putri
Marine Iguana
Marine iguana is so famous because of Darwin’s expedition because there’s a lot marine iguana in Galapagos Island. Galapagos marine iguanas are the world’s only marine lizards. They inhabit the Galapagos Islands and, in the absence of mammalian predators, have adapted well to the harsh marine environment. Marine iguanas are vegetarian, they looking for food in intertidal zone. Their primary food that they eat is sea weed. Marine iguana can dive until 1m-5m but for an adult marine iguana they can dive until 15m, usually they only dive for a few minute. Average length for the male marine iguana is 0.7 m, and the average length for female is 0.6 m. average male weight is 1.5 kg, but an average weight for female is 0.5kg. marine iguana have a ugly face it looks. Their tails is flattened and they swim by lateral undulation of their bodies, with their limbs held to the side. Marine iguana have a long and sharp claws by comparison to the other iguanas, this claw is to enable them to cling to rocks along the shore, and help them to resist being pulled away by the heavy waves.
The taxonomy of marine iguana:
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : chordata
Class : reptilia
Order : squamata
Family : iguandidae
Genus : ambylrynchus
By Fabian Erlanda Nasution
The taxonomy of marine iguana:
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : chordata
Class : reptilia
Order : squamata
Family : iguandidae
Genus : ambylrynchus
By Fabian Erlanda Nasution