Understanding of Animal

Kingdom
Reptilia Part 1
‘Reptile’ is derived from the Latin word ‘repere’
which means ‘to creep’ or
‘a groveling or despised person’.
• Cold-bloodedness
• Skin and Scales:
– skin is thickened to form scales
– periodically shed.
• Olfaction (smell) and thermosensitivity (heat
detection): organ in the roof of the mouth
called the Jacobson’s organ, “sense detectors”
• Reptiles are able to hibernate for long periods
• Most reptiles are carnivorous.
• Parental care is rarely seen in reptiles
 Some means of defense adapted by
reptiles:
• Camouflage (crypsis)
• Feigning death
• Mimicking poisonous species
• Mimicking the image of a predator’s predator
• Autotomy in lizards
• Body form and posturing.
• Aposematic coloration:
• Tough covering – skin or shell
• Spitting.
 Modes of attack

• Lying in hiding, waiting for prey

• Luring while remaining hidden
• Ambushing – suddenly striking at the
opportune moment
• Actively pursuing
 Methods of attack
• Biting (and injecting venom)
• Scratching
• Inflicting deep wounds
• Striking blows with the tail
• Projecting sticky tongues
 To summarise the Core Features of
Reptiles:
• Remaining Hidden, unseen
• Camouflage, deceit
• Sudden change in behavior
• Sudden attack (ambush
• Violence - lethal 
 Few alert words that indicate the
reptilian ability to remain hidden
• Blend seamlessly • Keep under wraps
• Bury • Not noticeable
• Coil • Mask
• Conceal • Merge
• Cover-up
•
• Mimic
Disguise
• Hide • Mysterious
• Hibernate • Obscure
• Inconspicuous • Playing dead
  • Unnoticed
  • Veil
 Few reptilian human
expressions of deception
Suddenness:
• Suddenly springing into action
• Suddenly changing behavior
• Sudden attack from “out of nowhere” or
“behind”
 Feel at a disadvantage
• First line of defense is to escape and hide
(avoidance behavior).
• Incompetency for a face-to-face fight (unlike
mammals).
• Only attack when repeatedly provoked or
cornered.
 Few alert words that indicate the
reptile’s initial fright or flight
response
• Bury • Glide
• Climb • Go inside
• Go under cover • Hide
• Dart off • Run away
• Enclosed in shell (very • Shut off
specific for the • Slide away
testudines) • Slither
• Escape • Take flight
• Flee
 Minimal parental care
• (Except in the pythons, crocodilians, mud
snakes and few skinks.)
• Human expressions:
– Indifference or uncaring behavior exhibited
towards ones’ children
– Need to be independent from a very early age
 Other features
• Violence
• Functions of the dry and scaly skin—barrier,
protection, moulting/shedding
• Image related to their ability to swallow as
whole—engulf, devour, etc.
• Display of bright coloration or change colors to
attract mates or distract attention from a
predator.
 Summarizing a reptilian survival
pattern
• Remain hidden, camouflaged, go
unnoticed
• Feeling at a disadvantage
• Employ many devious tactics (to
remain hidden)
• Suddenly spring into action—a
sudden change in behavior or
ambush
• Violence
• Each order will have different
shades or gradations of these
themes.
• There could be a very strong
prominence of one feature, where
it completely stands out.
• For example in testudines the
feeling of being defenceless and
weak is very strong and then we
see the need to retract inside their
protective shell. This will
differentiate them from snakes,
crocodiles and lizards.
 Four important orders
• Testudines (Tortoise, turtles and
terrapins)
• Crocodilia (Crocodiles, alligators,
caimans and gharials)
• Squamata (Snakes, lizards and
amphisbaenians)
• Rhynchocephalia / Sphenodontida
(Tuataras)
Testudines
Tortoises
Turtles
Terrapins
 The shell
• Scales modified into a shell—provides
protection and camouflage.
• Unique ability to withdraw into the shell
when in danger.
• Carrying the weight/burden on the back.
• Shell also compromises their locomotion
(except in the fast moving sea turtles).
• Threats to the shell—example being stabbed,
shot, chop-open, beaten, etc.
• The conflict is either to remain hidden inside
the shell, absolutely still and motionless
waiting for the danger outside to tide off or
to emerge out of the shell and move ahead.
• Highly sexual.
• No parental care of young.
• Falling from high places-high flying birds
(raptors) lift them in the air and then throw
them from heights to break-open the shell.
The testudine sense of threat and fear
• Expressed as:
– To shy away, introvert, timid, bashful, reserved,
withdrawn.
– To cringe, or move backward defensively, in fear.
– The world outside is too harsh, scary, cruel,
dangerous.
– Fear of being exposed, coming out, emerging, putting
oneself forward.
– Felling slow and vulnerable outside the shell.
– Feeling tremulously withdrawn inside the shell, with
words such as trembling, shaking, coldness, etc.
– A “testudine” person is usually initially hesitant to
enter a new or stressful situation, but once they
become comfortable they are fine.
 Characteristics of tortoises
• Live on land
• Dome shaped shell
• Slow-moving, awkward
gait
• Generally herbivorous
• Pull their head, legs
and tail into the shell
for protection
 Characteristics of turtles
(semiaquatic and sea/marine)
• Turtles live near or under water.
• They only come onto the land to lay eggs and
to the surface of the water to breathe.
 Difference
• The aquatic turtles have a compromised ability to
pull inside the shell (completely absent in the sea
turtles), either snap, or slide into the water, or
swim away swiftly.
• The semiaquatic turtle has sharp claws used for
digging and burrowing whereas the sea turtles
feet are like flippers which helps them to swim
with ease. In fact the sea turtles can even migrate
long distances.
• In the sea turtles there is also an ambiguous feeling
about their mobility—they can be extremely fast and
swift in the water, but on land they drag themselves.
• Turtles are also much more aggressive than tortoises
as they are exposed to more dangerous animals like
sharks and killer whales in the sea.
 Testudines remedies
Tortoises
Family: Testudinidae
[Tortoises]
 
Remedies:
Geochelone sulcata [African
spurred tortoise]
Testudo hermanni
[shell of Hermann’s
tortoise]
Testudo hermanni
[blood of Hermann’s
tortoise]
Semiaquatic turtles Sea/marine turtles
Family: Chelydridae Family: Cheloniidae
[Snapping turtles and big- [Sea turtles]
headed turtles]  
  Remedies:
Remedies: Eretmochelys imbricata
Ovum chelydra serpentina [Hawksbill turtle]
[egg of Common snapping
turtle] Lepidochelys olivacea
  [Olive Ridley sea turtle]
Family: Emydidae
[box turtles and pond
turtles]
 
Remedies:
Chrysemys scripta elegans
or Trachemys scripta
elegans
[Red-eared slider]
Terrapene carolina
[box turtle]
Crocodilia
Crocodiles
Alligators

Caimans
Gharials
Structure
• Large bodies with bony, plate-like armor in the skin
along their backs.
• Heavy, powerful and expandable jaws lined with
pointed teeth capable of killing.
• Long, powerful tails and short legs.

• A unique body form that allows them to be

suspended in water partly hidden and submerged,
except for their eyes and nostrils which are exposed
• Territoriality.
• Stronger male dominates and fights
aggressively for dominance and mating
rights.
• Nest attendance and parental care of young
is commonly seen.
 Characteristics of the
Crocodilian attack
• Hidden, lurking inside the
water, lie in wait
• Completely motionless, still
• Agile, alert and watchful
• Sudden explosion into a
violent activity, short
outburst of violent activity,
completely unpredictable
• Sudden lunge
• Takes over (the prey), in
control
• Grab and pull (the prey
with powerful and strong
claws and jaws)
• Hold, grip, seize (the prey
with their powerful teeth)
• Twist, thrash (the victim
from side to side)
• Slam, knock, break apart,
roll
• Spin violently
• Tear into pieces
• Drag under water, with no
chance to escape
• Drown
• Powerful grip
• Swallow whole
 Important themes of the Crocodilia from
Todd Rowe’s provings of the Alligator
mississippiensis
• Power
• Self-confidence

• Self-assertion (unwavering)
• Fearless, as no predators
• No inhibitions
 Crocodilia remedies
• Alligator mississippiensis [American alligator
or Mississippi alligator]
• Crocodylus novaeguineae [New Guinea
crocodile]
 Difference between
crocodiles and alligators
• The alligators are much more affectionate
towards their children and can ferociously
guard their nesting sites.

• Alligators are extremely vocal.

• Alligators make refuge holes called ‘gator holes’
and they are less aggressive than the crocodiles
 Comparing with Lac leoninum
• The crocodilians mode of attack comes close
to Lac leoninum i.e. sudden violent activity,
sudden lunge, power, hierarchy, fight till the
finish, complete destruction, etc. the
difference in Lac leoninum is that they
usually hunt in groups and stalk the prey.
(Stalk means: to follow, trail, track or
pursue).
 Typical lizard
• Long slender body
• Four legs (though some
are limbless)
• Movable eyelids
• Tail
 Characteristics of Locomotion
• Ability to cling to vertical surfaces, ceilings.
• Gravity defying acts:
– Going upside down
– Climbing up the wall
– Acrobatic acts
• Also is seen—wriggling, zig-zag movements, etc.
• Speed, fast-moving (most species), quick, agile to
attack and defend
• Ability to catch fast-moving prey.
• Stun their prey, shakes vigorously, bite and tear.
 Behavior
• Using colors – camouflage or enhancing colors.
• Tail autotomy to distract an onlooker’s attention
• Enlarging throat flaps to bluff or appear bigger
than they are, etc.
• The newly hatched lizards do not go through any
stage of dependence upon adult, and are able to
take care of themselves right away, without the
mother’s help
 Methods of Attack and defense:
• Lizard is always agile, and ready to take off in a hurry
and hide
Strategies
• Camouflage and mimicry of inanimate objects
• Escape (running away.)
• Autotomy
• Warning signals: displaying a bold and intimidating
threat
• Retaliation
 Methods of attack
• Biting and scratching
• Lashing with the tail
• Venom: only two Gila monster and Mexican
beaded lizard are overtly venomous
• Some possess specialized modes of hunting
 Two orders
Iguania Scleroglossa
(includes the iguanas, chameleons and (includes the geckos, skinks,
relatives) poisonous/venomous lizards, legless
lizards, monitor lizards etc)
Grasp prey with their tongue Increased jaw mobility
Tongue movements Biting more stronger than tongue
Various skin modifications-crests, movement
spines, flaps Chemosensory system
Beautiful coloration Wide foraging
Captures visible prey Captures hidden prey
Head bobbing/nodding
Press-ups
More herbivorous (vegetarian)
Solitary
Territorial
Climbing, swimming, leaping
Characteristics of the

Snakes
 Characteristic features of the snake

• Limblessness:
• Poison glands:
– Hemotoxic
– Neurotoxic
– Cytotoxic
– Myotoxic
 Other specific snake features
• Jaw flexibility and wide gape
• Chemosensory organs: Jacobson’s organ and
forked tongue which senses particles in the air.
• They can sense the vibrations from the
ground.
• Sensitivity at the throat level
 Snake Attack and defense
• Snake defense
- Run and escape (first line of defense):
• Few defensive methods more specific to snakes
– Squirting stream of blood from the eyes, Spitting
venom.
– Adopting defensive postures like spreading the hood,
the ‘S’ curve, etc.
– Hissing
– Attack deflection or mimetic behavior, or misdirection
and head hiding
– Dry run
 Methods of Snake Attack
• Poison
• Constriction
• They rely heavily on stealth and surprise.

The two main strategies

– ‘Sit and wait’
– Active hunters
 Human expressions of the Snake
experience
• Feeling defenseless and at a disadvantage.
• Vulnerable to attack
• Plotting, planning, and scheming are
important snake attributes.
• Violence, cruelty, torture and unfeelingness.
Miasm: Syphilitic
 Significant energy pattern (hand
gestures or doodles)
• ‘S’ curve
• Intertwining of the hands
• Flicking in and out of the tongue
• Strangulation or choking
• Blank appearance, hypnotic stare
• Hissing
 In society, where one can see snake
like survival strategy:
• Mafia/Underworld
• Terrorism
• War/Guerrila Warfare
• Espionage/Undercover
• Crime/Blackmail/Detection
• Politics
• Corporate
• Glamour
• Magic/Illusion
• Fraud
• Cut throat competition
• Position of power
• Kidnapping, assassinations, bombing, hijacking, hostage
• Commando type actions
 The constrictors
Boas and Pythons

Families:
Boidae, Pythonidae
etc.
 General features of Constrictors:
• Nonvenomous snakes
• Heavily built, stocky, muscular
• Ability to constrict, suffocate and swallow whole
• Slow-moving
• Move in a straight line/rectilinear fashion
• Solitary and nocturnal animals
• They have a very powerful digestive system; it
can break down, bone, horns, teeth as well as
hide and flesh.
Human expressions of Constrictors in
Patients
Method of attack and defense:
• Lie in wait; watch from a suitable vantage
point
• Constriction
• Kill by asphyxiation
The ability to coil The ability to The ability to
around and asphyxiate: swallow whole:
constrict:
Wrap around Choke Swallow up
Coil Strangulate Engulf
Grip Stifle Gobble up
Compress Suffocate Gulp
Wring Garrote Wolf down
Crush Devour
Oppress Consume
Tighten, taut Toss down
Contract, constrict
Squeeze tightly
Squeeze the life out
 Distinctive feature of Pythons:
Maternal care
• The mother python incubates her eggs by
coiling around them and periodically
“shivering” to keep its body temperature
raised.
• She will not leave the eggs except to bask in
order to raise her body temperature. She does
not eat during this period.
• A female protecting her eggs can be very
aggressive.