October 21 is Reptile Awareness Day, or World Reptile Day, an unofficial, but widely celebrated holiday. This event is observed to remind people of the environmental threats reptiles face and to promote their conservation. The holiday provides a perfect occasion for highlighting these incredible animals and inviting old and new friends to see the Primorsky Aquarium’s exhibits.
There are currently about 12,000 species of reptiles in the world. These animals are cold-blooded, the same as fish and amphibians. Their body temperature changes with the temperature of the environment. This class of animals is composed of four orders: Rhynchocephalia, with only one living species, the tuatara, Crocodilia (crocodiles), Testudines (turtles), and Squamata (lizards and snakes).
Although the Primorsky Aquarium cannot boast of having crocodiles yet, the collection of lizards and snakes here is quite interesting. Each visitor to the Tropical Rain Forest exhibit can find their own favorites. Someone may spend a long time observing the common blue-tongued skink Tiliqua scinoides to make sure whether it really has a blue tongue; another visitor prefers watching the New Caledonia giant gecko Rhacodactylus leachianus stuck to the glass; while the third one admires the graceful movements of snakes.
The Tropical Rain Forest exhibit will soon welcome new members to its family of reptiles. These will include the panther chameleon Furcifer pardalis, the Cuvier's Madagascar swift Oplurus cuvieri and three species of Phelsuma: the striped day gecko P. lineata, the peacock day gecko P. quadriocellata and the broad-tailed day gecko P. laticauda. All the new reptiles are endemic to Madagascar and they arrived at the Primorsky Aquarium directly from this mysterious island. The keepers are going to design a special part of the exhibit dedicated to Madagascar and starring the newcomers.