In the vast Gobi Desert in the northwest, there are often hundreds of kilometers of deserted land. Only the northwest wind has left behind "ancient castles" with different shapes and strange rocks over the years. When the wind whistled and blew, it made a very terrible ghost crying wolf howl, which was the Yadan Ghost City. There is little rain and strong sunshine throughout the year, and the summer is hot and dry, and the winter is dry and cold, so the yellow sand is full of sky.
<h1>01 Scorpion tigers appear in the Qinghai Gobi, they are desert watchmen, all day long know the sun</h1>
Hiking on the vast Gobi Desert, I am also attracted by some small animals that sneak around from time to time. Some don't see you as a person at all, ignore you at all, and are basking in various poses.
Some stood on the sand pile, like a poet chanting poems, and like looking into the distance, as if left-behind children hoped that their parents who were working thousands of miles away would come home at this time.
This guy lives in Yadan Devil's Town all year round, inhabiting arid sand. Often at 8 o'clock in the morning, they lie at the mouth of the cave, stretch their limbs as far as possible to bask in the sun, until the sun is west, and then they go back to the cave.
If the weather continues to turn cold or abnormal, they go into hibernation.
This kind of little elf, the local people in Qinghai affectionately call it "scorpion tiger", which means "a small thing that runs fast". The Chinese scientific name of the scorpion tiger is Qinghai Sand Lizard, and some places call it Scorpion Tiger Zi, Snake Skin Slip, Sha Po Zi, and Sand Tiger Zi.
<h1>02 In the face of the enemy, the tail is broken to survive, obtaining the water needed by the body from the air, and absorbing the radiation energy of the ground to increase body temperature</h1>
The scorpion tiger is very petite, 4-7 cm long; the round head is very smooth and like the head of a toad, and there seems to be scar marks on the head; the body is covered with scales, like a soldier wearing full armor.
A long tail always likes to swing. The color at the end of the tail of the male scorpion tiger is black, but the female scorpion tiger is dark yellow. Individuals of male scorpion tigers are generally heavier than female scorpion tigers, with longer body lengths and longer tail lengths. No way, not handsome, has always been a lustful female scorpion tiger can not see.
There are gray-yellow or orange ridges in the center of the back, and there are dark spots along the sides of the body, so that it is in harmony with the background of the sand, and the concealment is good, and the predators cannot find it; the abdomen is white as a whole, which can reflect the high temperature radiation on the sand surface.
The scales on the upper and lower eyelid edges of the scorpion tiger are specialized into a serrated shape, forming two rows of dense "eyelashes", and the inside of the nostrils is covered with skin flaps, which is not a beautiful vase, it is useful, and can be used to block the intrusion of wind and sand into the eyes and nose.
The cargo's short limbs and fast crawling speed are unexpected, making it easier for them to move in the desert, dig holes or find food; the scales on the sides of the toes are specialized into ctenophores, which can increase the contact area with the sand surface, so as not to fall into the sand and become the mouth food of predators.
Water has always been the source of all things, but the scorpion tiger does not need to drink water at all, what "black technology" does the scorpion tiger have? Because they can meet the amount of water used for a day just by relying on moisture in food and relatively humid air in the morning. No wonder even camels are willing to bow to the wind.
The scorpion tiger's whole body is covered with scales, which is not used to look good, mainly to prevent the loss of moisture in the body; plus the skin of the scorpion tiger has no glands, does not secrete liquid, and the excrement is dry and less watery. Such a water conservation can really be rated as a desert water conservation expert.
The scorpion tiger has a large black spot on its abdomen, and when they first come out of the hole in the morning, they can use it to absorb the energy radiated from the ground, which can raise the body temperature more quickly.
Hey, scorpion tiger has a more vicious move, in order to protect themselves and "self-harm". When attacked by the enemy, the scorpion tiger often leaves the broken tail, and what is more interesting is that the broken tail can still jump non-stop, attracting the attention of the enemy, and the scorpion tiger takes this opportunity to slip away.
<h1>03 Complex "tail" body language, used to use the tail swing action to communicate, but also use the tail swing to court</h1>
When the scorpion tiger grows up, it also has to get married and have children, which only knows the sun all day, but once it is going to find a partner, it still has a set, and it uses a curly tail to court.
After dressing up, it did not immediately drill out of the cave, but probed its brain at the mouth of the cave, first alertly observing the surrounding environment to see if there were any enemies. Once you're sure it's safe, you can quickly climb to the top of the dune. However, there were already several male scorpion tigers on it.
It knows the survival of the fittest, and in order to defeat their enemies, they hold their heads high and their morale is high. In the ensuing battle, it will constantly swing and curl its tail, declaring war on the other side in this unique way: I am better than you, hurry up and get out of the way!
What's even more interesting is that the scorpion tiger also has a complex "tail" body language, and both male and female show interesting capuchin tail swing movements: their tails are sometimes upright like bamboo poles, and sometimes they are slightly curved, just like Tianjin twist flowers. Sometimes it swings slightly like a breeze, and sometimes it swings sharply like a wild storm.
What exactly their capuchin and tail swinging movements mean has not yet been worked out by scientists.
Animal lovers speculate that they should be communicating through this action, just like our human body language, perhaps in a gesture of affection, or perhaps a rejection, or even a warning.
However, such an interesting act does add a lot of life to the Yadan Ghost City.
<h1>04 The female scorpion tiger uses her belly as a nursery, and the cub is alive and jumping as soon as she is born</h1>
At altitudes of 1,000-3,000 meters in Xinjiang, female Qitai sand lizards usually produce eggs, allowing them to develop independently in the external environment and hatch small sand lizards.
At high altitudes in Qinghai, the eggs of female lizards are usually produced as juveniles after developing and forming in the mother's body. This is egg birth, and the scorpion tiger is the representative of this mode of reproduction.
Because of the low temperature and low oxygen content on the plateau, the scorpion tiger can only move from the beginning of May to the end of September every year, which is at least one month shorter than the sand lizard in the low altitude area.
If they lay eggs in a cave on the Tibetan Plateau, the little scorpion tiger is likely to not hatch, or it will soon hatch into hibernation, and there is not enough energy for fragile new life to survive the long, cold winter.
Thus, a special mode of reproduction evolved: oviparous birth. Moreover, the female scorpion tiger has a lag in sexual maturity, and is usually larger, reaching sexual maturity of the female scorpion tiger is generally 7 cm long. The "smart" female scorpion tiger uses her belly as a nursery to provide a comfortable and safe development environment for offspring.
Of course, compared to mammals, they do not simply stay in the womb to supply nutrients by the placenta, but develop in the egg and grow on the nutrients inside the egg. The fertilized egg can be developed in the mother's womb and is born as a small cub bouncing around.
<h1>05 Like to spend the winter with "strangers", either with other people's mothers or other people's fathers</h1>
Most sand lizards choose to breed in the spring and summer when food is abundant and the climate is suitable, but the scorpion tiger chooses to breed in August and September, which is about to enter the autumn, and the climate in Qinghai is already very cold.
At this time, the newborn baby scorpion tiger will face a severe survival test, but the survival rate of the scorpion tiger over winter is as high as 84.4%. In the face of a severe living environment, such a survival rate is very rare. In fact, this is related to the unique wintering pattern of the scorpion tiger.
With the advent of winter, the scorpion tiger will enter hibernation, but at this time, not only the small scorpion tiger is still very small, even the adult scorpion tiger is difficult to obtain warmth through sunlight. Therefore, the clever scorpion tiger decided to "hug the group for warmth". This can not only ensure the survival of small lizards, but also allow adult scorpion tigers to overwinter safely.
Experts found an interesting phenomenon, in the cave of the scorpion tiger, some female scorpion tigers and small scorpion tigers overwinter together, some male scorpion tigers and small scorpion tigers overwinter together, and some female scorpion tigers, male scorpion tigers and small scorpion tigers overwinter together. However, it is usually the female scorpion tiger who takes the baby scorpion tiger with her for the winter.
The most peculiar thing is that when the scorpion tiger "hugs and warms" in the cave for the winter, the vast majority of the scorpion tigers in the same cave are not father, son or brother, sister, that is, many are "strangers", they are a non-related relationship. So why doesn't your baby spend the winter with his "loved ones"?
<h1>epilogue</h1>
The scorpion tiger is an inconspicuous reptile, it is neither as powerful as the lion tiger, nor as sensitive as the rabbit, but it has avoided repeated disasters with tenacious vitality. Don't think that this little guy only knows how to bask in the sun and sleep, they are good helpers for humans, and they have become the protectors of plants in the desert.
Xuelinggu Nature Lab/Production
References: Nature, China Science Daily, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences