Blue Tongue Lizards

Located all across Australia are Blue Tongue Lizards. There are several different species but the most common are the:

1. Eastern Blue Tongue Lizard
2. Central Blue Tongue Lizard
3. Western Blue Tongue Lizard
4. Shingleback Lizard (although not a "Blue Tongue" a close relative)

If you want an article containing more detail about some of these incredible reptiles just ask!

To all the images I used in this blog post.

Image 1

http://coolcompanions.com.au/eastern-blue-tongued-skink/

Image 2

http://www.crocodilesanddragons.com.au/skinks.html

Image 3

http://www.oakvalefarm.com.au/centralian_blue-tongue_lizard.php

Image 4

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/tiliquamultifasciata/interesting/

Image 5

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Blue-tongued_lizard-dist.png

Image 6

https://www.flickr.com/photos/colonel_007/3519583355

Image 7

http://coolcompanions.com.au/shingleback-lizard/

Image 8

http://www.oakvalefarm.com.au/shingleback_lizard.php

Eastern Blue Tongue Lizard

Image 1

The Eastern Blue Tongue Lizard (Tiliqua Scincoides) lives along most of the Eastern and Northern Coast of Australia.

Image 2

Central Blue Tongue Lizard

Image 3

The Western Blue Tongue Lizard (Tiliqua Fasciata) lives in Central Australia and along the coast of Western Australia.

Image 4

Western Blue Tongue Lizard

Image 5

The Western Blue Tongue Lizard (Tiliqua Occupitalus) lives along the South Western coast of Western and Southern Australia.

Image 6

Shingleback Lizard

Image 7

The Shingleback Lizard (Tiliqua Rugosa) is found in Southern Western Australia as well as most of Southern Australia and New South Wales.

Image 8

Conservation
Blue Tongues all across Australia are in decline for several reasons:

• Domesticated and feral animal attacks
• Blue Tongues have short and stumpy legs and are unable to run away
• Blue Tongues open up their mouths and show off their blue tongue to scare away predators
• Dogs are normally fooled (if only temporarily)
• Cats are not fooled and will continue to attack
• Lawn Mowing
• It is commonplace to find a blue tongue lizard in your yard when you are mowing, but the blue tongues will not run away when they hear the lawnmower- instead choosing to fight it
• Insecticides
• Blue Tongues love snails! They will not leave one alone if they see it.
• Because of snail poisons, blue tongues commonly eat poisoned snails and die. 
• Avoid using snail poison in your backyard- the snail population will recover but the blue tongue population will not!
• As well as loving snails, blue tongues also love strawberries!
• They will eat any strawberry, whether it is ripe or not!
• Because of poisons sprayed on plants, the blue tongues can also die from poisoned strawberries.

You can help save blue tongues by:

• Keeping your pets inside
• Walking pets on leashes
• Leaving blue tongues alone if you see one on the ground
• Not using insecticides! The blue tongues can keep the snail population under control just fine if you don't kill them!

17th Guessing Article

Congratulations to Thomas_GeoGuy for guessing the previous person- Ernest Lawrence.

1. I am a place
2. Cotton was the key to my demise
3. In a dead sea, but not the Dead Sea
4. Once sat in a "Red" Country
5. Now wedged between two "Stans"

Australian Megafauna

In response to Jblob.
The term "Australian Megafauna" indicates that the creatures in this category are roughly 40kg. In other countries the term "Megafauna" indicates that the creature weighed over 100kg, but because of Australia's lack of animals weighing over 100kg, the term is more lenient.

Some Australian Megafauna are:

• Diprotodon

The Diprotodon is the largest marsupial to have ever lived. Its name means two forward teeth. It is commonly known as a giant wombat. Fossils of it have been found across most of mainland Australia. It was roughly 3 metres from nose to tail and 2 metres tall. Some Indigenous Australian cave paintings depict an animal similar to the Diprotodon, indicating that Indigenous may have had contact.

• Zaglossus Hackettii

The Zaglossus Hackettii is a species of Echidna that was roughly 1 metre long and weighed 30kg. It was the largest monotreme to exist, and due to scorch marks on some bones, it is likely that it was hunted.

The cause of the Australian Megafauna's extinction is widely debated. Theories range from climate change to human (Indigenous) hunting.

16th Guessing Article

Congratulations to 78TyranidMaster87 (Me!), who guessed the previous element- Carbon.
Today I will be adding (significant) people to the guessing article.
On a side note, I will still be guessing on these articles, but obviously not the ones I've been involved in.

1. I am a person
2. I studied at Yale
3. I won a Nobel Prize
4. I was involved in Physics

Questions

If you have any questions relating to science or the website, do not hesitate to ask. Just comment your question on any article (except guessing articles) and we will do our best to answer it

Addition to Science Facts Team

Today we added another member to our team- 78TyranidMaster87. They will no longer guess on the guessing articles and may add items to the blog.

-Science Genius

Giant and Colossal Squid

http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/colossalsquid.htm

The Giant Squid is a creature straight out of mythology, but it was recently discovered that a larger squid, the Colossal Squid exists. It is likely that the myths originated from the fact that the giant and colossal squids visited the surface when the temperature was lower. the giant and colossal squids live in deep water, where little light reaches and even less heat. Therefore the giant and colossal squids have acclimatised to low temperatures. 

It is unlikely that the giant or colossal squid ever attacked ships like the Kraken of legend - it would be too little food for the amount of energy required. It is far more likely that sailors saw the colossal animals and exaggerated stories of size. It is likely that the squid would simply flee from the ship.

The Colossal Squid has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. They need to be large to see in the depths. Both the giant squid and the colossal squids have hooks on their suckers so as to ensure that prey doesn't escape.

The Colossal Squid also has a unique beak. It can become move between solid like a bone and fluid, like the rest of the body. This allows the squid to move to deeper depths and still effectively kill animals.

Guessing Article Scoreboard

Congratulations to all who have successfully guessed a place, animal or element.
Below is the scoreboard for all guessing articles. If you notice any faults, do not hesitate to comment below.

15th Guessing Article

Congratulations to Ryan Passout who guessed the previous animal- the Antilopine Kangaroo.

1. I am an element
2. I am lighter than Barium
3. I am not a metal
4. I am the15th most abundant element in Earth's Crust

Brazilian Wandering Spider

The Brazilian Wandering Spider or the Banana Spider lives in the Amazon rainforest and has the second most dangerous venom of any spider (after Sydney Funnel Web). It likes to seek out dark places for shelter, but hunts aggressively, rather than waiting for prey to come to it. Unfortunately, it likes to hide in banana boxes and has been transported to several places outside of South America such as Northern America and the United Kingdom. It can have a 13cm leg span and has a bad attitude, much like the Sydney Funnel Web. It has an unusual way of striking- it has a shallow bite, but not because it's fangs are small, but because it means that the venom can travel faster through the prey's blood system. It's venom contains a powerful neurotoxin, and another chemical that can lead to males getting an erection lasting for hours, that can lead to impotence.
Just don't forget to check to make sure the bananas you buy aren't being used as a home...

14th Guessing Article

Congratulations to Thomas GeoGuy for correctly guessing the previous location- Lake Toba

1. I am an animal
2. I live in the Southern Hemisphere
3. I live in groups of up to 30
4. I am a mammal
5. I am a macropod
6. I live on mainland Australia
7. I do not have wallaby in my name
8. I am commonly confused with a red kangaroo
9. I live in the monsoonal areas of Australia

13th Guessing Article

Congratulations to Thomas GeoGuy for guessing the previous element- Neptunium.

1. I am a place
2. I am located between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn