Creature Feature: Otter Shrew.

Wait a second. Wait just a doggone second. You already did otters. Sure, those were sea otters and this looks more like a river otter, and otters are always a ton of fun to watch, but still.

Thing is, this isn't an otter. It's not even related to otters aside from being a mammal. The creature up there is a giant otter shrew (Potamogale velox), which is neither an otter nor a shrew. It is properly a tenrec, native to the forest streams of sub-Saharan Africa. As one might expect, it is a piscivorous, freshwater mammal. Rodent or mustelid it is not.



For those of you who do not recall my Madagascar Week, tenrecs are the weirdest and most diverse members of Afrotheria. They are known for mimicking other, 'normal' animals uncannily well. Unlike most mammals, tenrecs have cloacae (a single opening for defecating, urinating, and birthing) and sport unusually low body temperatures. They're like the marsupials of Madagascar.

The otter shrew is a miracle of convergent evolution. Tenrecs are known for filling a lot of niches, but the otter shrew takes the cake by looking like a river otter, eating like a river otter, and basically being a river otter in every way except genetics and dentition. Tenrecs can mimic the niches and looks of several "normal" animals, but the otter shrew is just insane at how well it copies an otter.

That said, the parts that aren't distinctly otterlike stick out. Unlike otters - hell, unlike marine mammals like dolphins and manatees (to whom the tenrecs are related) - the otter shrew's spine moves side to side like a crocodile's while it's swimming. It also has a crazy skull that looks almost like it belongs on a crocodile more than any sort of mammal. The primitive side of tenrecs is crystal clear beneath that otter facade.

Tenrecs are among those animals that I simply cannot comprehend people not loving. There's a certain charm to a group of animals so like 'normal' animals, but so very far away on a genetic level. Oh, and this one might be more like Pikachu than a rodent, too.

Green Tree Python and Emerald Tree Boa.

I know, I know - another snake entry. You're probably getting sick of these, but this is an entry I've owed you all for almost two years, now. To sweeten the deal, it's a double header...with good reason.

Look at the two snakes below. Tell me if you can tell that they aren't the same species.

Despite looking very, very, very similar, the two snakes above are not even the same type of snake. The one on the left is a green tree python (Morelia viridis); the one on the right (with the large white stripes) is an emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus). The GTP is native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Australia; the ETB is native to the rainforests of South America.

So, fact blitz: Both the ETB and GTP are green, arboreal constrictors that get roughly 6 feet long as adults. The young ones are usually either red or yellow in color, changing to bright green within a year. Both snakes will also loop a coil or two over a branch and set their heads dead center. In captivity, it can be really, really hard to tell them apart.

Remember when I said that snakes had some crazy convergent evolution goin' on? This is exactly what I meant. These two snakes live nowhere near each other. Unlike lions and tigers, which are genetically close enough to reproduce even though they've been separated for thousands of years, ETB's and GTP's aren't genetically compatible. Their similarity is solely based on the evolutionary process; because they adapted to the same environments, eat the same food, and so forth, they evolved similar adaptations. In this case, they happen to be creepily similar.

Yeah, umm...I'd wear a glove, too. This is an ETB.

Similar does not mean identical. For example, the emerald tree boa has, proportionately, the largest fangs of any non-venomous snake. The ETB eats birds to warrant these super-long fangs; for whatever reason, GTPs do not. ETB's also have more apparent white on them than do GTP's as a rule. Also, GTP's are a lot more common in captivity in general, even sporting a blue morph.

A few handy tricks if you're stuck identifying a random green snake in a tree and somebody asks, "hey, what is that?":

~ Emerald Tree Boas are from South America. GTPs are from Asia and Australia. Location is one of the main dividing points, here.

~Boas have live babies; pythons lay eggs. Even if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's gotta give birth like a duck to really be a duck.

~ Those TEETH. We do not advise testing this in the wild by sticking your hand over the snake's head. Hell, we don't even advise trying this at home. Messing with those fangs sounds like a Jackass bit waiting to happen.

~ Both of these are rather thick-bodied. If the snake in question is slender, it's probably one of the many types of vine snakes or some other colubrid. Some people apparently do not know the difference, so there ya go.

A blue GTP. More here.

Both the emerald tree boa and green tree python have a strong following in the exotic pet trade. GTP's in particular have a huge fanbase, both because of their diverse color morphs as adults and their cross-compatibility with another Morelia complex known as carpet pythons (who also SO deserve their own entry!). The ETB base is a bit smaller, but they are nonetheless particularly popular in the Netherlands. Both of these species are intermediate-level snakes requiring elaborate enclosures with humidity setups etc. These are not snakes you take out and play with; these are snakes that you spend thousands on a nice, realistic terrarium setup for, then show your friends that.

Unova Edition: The Snivy Hunt Continues.

 

Serperior has got to be one of the most frustrating entries on Bulbapedia. If it's a snake and has "green" or "royal" in the name, people instantly assume it must have some ties to Serperior, the final evolution of the Snivy family. The grass and vine snakes I will validate; there is one, however, that seems to have escaped the public's eye entirely. Hell, I didn't even know this snake existed until one of my kingsnake.com escapades:

From captivebredreptiles.uk forums.

Meet Baron's Racer (Philodryas baroni). It lives in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. Like most snakes, it eats small mammals and birds, as well as fish and amphibians. As the Greek name might indicate, it's arboreal ("likes trees") and can also be found around salt flats. It will flee before anything else, hence "racer."  Oh, and it looks a whole lot like a member of the Snivy family. Not dismissing the vine snake theory (which I admit is likely), but this similarity is just creepy. (Plus, if you're citing the royal python just because of the name, surely "baron" qualifies as well.)

Click around enough Baron's Racer pages and one will notice that they have a fair amount of natural color morphs. The wild versions come in green (like Snivy) and brown. Captive breeders have also been working on a bright blue morph (as they have with rhinoceros rat snakes as well). Hello, Shiny Serperior!

Japan definitely knows about this.

Baron's Racers, although not really harmful to humans, are technically rear-fanged venomous (as are some vine snakes). This means that they have some venomous fangs toward the back of their mouths. Symptoms of envenomation include localized swelling and inflammation, with symptoms progressing slightly upwards from the site. All symptoms ceased after 48 hours. Nothing to worry about, but, from personal experience (with a different snake, mind) still a little freaky. There have been no fatalities from Baron's Racers.


Along with looking like a Snivy, these snakes have one other neat trait: they can glide from tree to tree. This is an example of convergent evolution with the Chrysopeleia complex, also known as Paradise Tree Snakes. The Paradise Tree Snakes are native to Southeast Asia, as are the Ahaetulla vine snakes. There are quite a lot of such examples of convergence, including a rather striking one that I intended to cover earlier on this blog...but will salvage and polish up this coming week.

Baron's Racers are uncommon in the exotic pet business. They are not particularly hard to take care of, but not many people have them. The captive breeding age is about normal, with 3 years as the breeding age for females. The only reason they aren't more common is simply because not many have been imported. There are several good captive breeders, however, so please ask one of them if you want your own pet Snivy. Have a credit card or good ball python morphs ready; prepare to pay at least 150 USD and shipping.

(Interesting side-note: While working on a report, I found another bit to chew on relating to Serperior. Although Thai art is never explicitly cited as a source, the resemblance of a naga - a regal, jacketed snake- being eaten/vomited up by a makara to Serperior's own 'jacket' and stubby limbs is uncanny...and kinda disturbing. I'm probably just seeing things this time around, but the serpent devouring/vomiting is a pretty common recurring theme. This was just the first time I had seen it serpent-on-serpent. More here.)


C'mon, Bulba-people. Get your hands a little bit dirty in the exotic pet trade - or some good reptile books - next time a snake comes around. Maybe I'll have to make use of that account...