Of Tomistoma and Taxonomy ...

Kadambari Devarajan — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:58:30 GMT

Of Tomistoma and Taxonomy ...

There is something strange about the way some creatures seem to court controversy for no apparent rhyme or reason. And there are those for whom controversy is a birthright. I think that taxonomists ought to categorically be classified under the latter set. The irony of this classification should not be missed. Please do not take me wrong, I have immense admiration for Linnaeus and his Systema Naturae; his academic descendants, however, are a mixed lot and can on occasion give one the heebie-jeebies. Take the class Aves, for instance. Some warblers, pipits, and larks have me tearing my hair apart, only to be topped off with random changes in nomenclature ever so often based on some obscure physical characteristic. Unfortunately, the Tomistoma or False Gharial is hounded by both controversy and taxonomists, for no apparent fault of its own.

Here Be Dragons

Kadambari Devarajan — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:08:45 GMT

Here Be Dragons

This is a collection of lateral, dorsal, and ventral profiles, and other scientifically relevant photographs of different crocodilians. Some of the photographs were taken at the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Center for Herpetology with specimens in captivity. Photographs from the wild are provided with location wherever possible. Please note that the images are fairly low resolution since I had to scale them to roughly a fifth of their size, primarily because bulky images take inordinately long to load. If there is any image you would like to use, please email me for a high resolution photograph.

(The distribution details are from http://www.crocodilian.com. Many thanks to Colin Stevenson, Tarun Nair, and Mittal Gala from MCBT for all kinds of logistical help!)

Alligatoridae

Alligator mississippiensis

Common Name : American Alligator
Distribution : SE United States

Nicole is an adult female alligator held in captivity at MCBT. The image below documents her with a special catch -- a turtle. Turtles are a typical food source for alligators in the wild and due to this turtles are almost never introduced to ponds housing captive alligators. This particular turtle must have accidentally wandered in from elsewhere ...

Kadambari Devarajan (Posts about reptile)

Of Tomistoma and Taxonomy ...