Imagine an animal that looks like a fairy tale about dragons come to life. This is the crocodile shinosaur, an amazing reptile whose appearance instantly transports us to the distant past. Its armored skin, powerful tail, and semi-aquatic lifestyle make you think it has lost its way in time.
In fact, it doesn't just resemble ancient creatures — it is their direct descendant. This lizard is the last living representative of an entire ancient genus of shinosaurs that once shared the planet with dinosaurs. While its relatives have long since disappeared, it has managed to survive almost unchanged.
Today, it can only be found in a few places on Earth. Its uniqueness is a living window into an era that seems fantastic to us. By studying this “contemporary of the ancients,” we can better understand how evolution works and what helps species survive real catastrophes.
The crocodile shinosaur is an unusual reptile that still lives in the mountain rivers of Vietnam and China, although its genus dates back to ancient times, even before the dinosaurs. It survived when millions of other species disappeared and is now considered the last representative of its ancient genus. This animal resembles a mixture of a crocodile and a lizard: it has a long body, short legs, and a leathery back. It moves very little, hides under rocks, and is rarely seen by humans. Due to its rarity, habitat loss, and poaching, its population is on the verge of extinction. Today, the shinosaur is like a living window into the past, a reminder of what the world might have been like long before us.
Range, habitat, and living conditions
In the wild, shinosaurs can be found in southern China. The lizard is found in the provinces of Guizhou, Guangdong, Hunan, and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
In Vietnam, crocodile shinosaurs inhabit the province of Quang Ninh. These lizards prefer to settle near river banks in mountain forests.
Crocodile shinosaur
Character and lifestyle
Shinosaurs lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle and actively hunt during daylight hours.
They periodically climb onto branches overhanging the water to bask in the sun. As soon as they sense danger, they fall from the branch into the water. Lizards are good swimmers and can stay underwater for a long time without surfacing: they can go without air for half an hour. At night, they sleep on tree branches.
Shinisaurus crocodilurus
The Shinizaur can sit motionless for a long time. It can freeze for several hours. This ability amazed the Chinese. There was even a popular belief that a potion made from a shinisaurus helped to cope with insomnia.
This is interesting! Although the shinisaur is an excellent swimmer, it is also comfortable on land. This lizard does not become clumsy when it is out of the water; it runs quickly and deftly and climbs trees.
Lizards are territorial. Each individual occupies a specific space in the water body. If another lizard appears in the same territory, both individuals will open their mouths to determine which of them is dominant. One shinosaur may also attack another, waving its tail.
Chinese Crocodile Lizard
The defeated individual usually does not suffer any physical damage. However, it will immediately leave the dominant individual's territory.
Appearance
Males reach a body length of up to 45 cm, while females are slightly smaller, up to 40 cm. The tail is 1.2 times longer than the body.
The lizard's back is brown, and its belly is slightly lighter, dark yellow or light orange. Males are more brightly colored than females. The lizard's body shape is similar to that of a crocodile; this structure allows it to swim easily and quickly.
The crocodile shinosaur got its name thanks to sharp scales, extending along the tail in 4 rows from the base to the tip.
What does a crocodile shinosaur look like?
The teeth are sharp and serrated: which are convenient for grabbing and holding prey. The type of attachment is pleurodont: the tooth is attached sideways to the jawbone from the inside. Teeth grow throughout their life. If one breaks, it will be lost, but a new one will grow in its place.
Housing conditions
A terrarium measuring 1.1*0.5*0.6 m is ideal for a shinosaur. It must have a pool so that the lizard can swim.
Place driftwood and stones under the water. The water temperature should be +18 degrees. It must be well filtered: if it becomes contaminated, the lizard's health will deteriorate.
Care rules
The air temperature during daylight hours should be +20 degrees. At night, it should be lowered slightly, to +18 degrees. Humidity should be maintained at 60-80%. Gravel is the best choice for substrate. It is also worth placing branches above the water. The lizard will be able to bask on them during the day, and its lifestyle will be closer to that of its wild counterpart.
Please note! At home, you can feed them locusts, crickets, worms, freshwater shrimp, and small frogs.
They can be kept separately, in pairs for breeding, or in groups. The more individuals there are, the larger the tank should be. Males can be aggressive when paired, so it is better to separate them and place them in a common tank only for mating. For group housing, it is more common to choose one male and several females. Less often, several males are housed together. However, lizards can be aggressive towards their fellow species. If this happens, they should be separated.
Chinese Crocodile Lizard
Provide the lizards with shelters. Cork bark rolls are ideal for this purpose. If you partially submerge them in water, they will not start to mold. You can also plant underwater plants: the lizards will be able to hide among them.
It is necessary to clean up after your pets regularly and remove debris from the terrarium. A siphon vacuum cleaner for aquariums is convenient for cleaning the underwater part. Calcium deposits often appear on the walls: lizards jump into the water from branches, causing splashes to get on the glass.
These contaminants are removed with a scraper. Non-concentrated cleaning products can also help remove them. But it is important to choose the right products: household chemicals can harm reptiles.
Diet
The Shinizaur is a predatory lizard. Its diet consists mainly of insects, small mollusks, and invertebrates.
This predator is also capable of attacking small fish or other lizards.
Photo of a shinosaur
Keep in mind! From fall to spring, the lizard may refuse to eat.
Subspecies
There are two subspecies:
Chinese
The snout is shorter and wider than that of the Vietnamese shinosaur. It feeds mainly on underwater invertebrates, but can attack small fish and other lizards.
Vietnamese
The snout of this subspecies is elongated and pointed. Its eyes are smaller than those of its Chinese counterpart. The staple diet of this species is worms, cockroaches, and crickets.
Reproduction
Shinosaurs are viviparous lizards. They are ready to reproduce from the age of 3. Pregnancy lasts about 9 months.
The female gives birth in February, in a litter. 4 to 8 offspring. The female does not care for her offspring: newborn lizards are completely independent and capable of living on their own from birth. The female can give birth every year.
Males acquire a brighter color during the mating season. They also begin to court potential mates: nodding their heads and approaching them. Copulation is possible when the male has come close enough to bite the female on the neck. After that, the male moves so that he is on top of the female. The lizard releases its mate only after ejaculation.
— Ekaterina Alekseeva I became acquainted with the world of terrarium keeping as a child
Diseases and health
The main problem faced by terrarium owners who keep shinosaurs is fungal infections. Young crocodilian lizards are particularly susceptible to these.
A well-established routine will help protect your pet from them. horizontal air circulation.
Please note! A shinosaur may refuse food due to health problems.
If there are no fat reserves under the tail and other alarming symptoms have appeared, do not wait for the lizard to start eating on its own. It is better to consult a veterinarian specializing in reptiles to find out the causes and, if necessary, begin treatment.
Crocodile shinosaur
Interesting facts
Shinisaurus, like other reptiles, periodically sheds its skin. Unlike other species of lizards, molting can be a difficult process for this species. Sometimes it lasts for several days.
Please note! Vietnamese crocodile lizards were first brought to Russia by herpetologist S. Ryabov. The Moscow Zoo was the first to successfully breed these lizards in the country.
The crocodile shinosaur is an amazing reminder of how many secrets nature still holds. This secretive lizard is a living window into the distant past, the last call from an era when its genus was widespread.
Studying it is not just a matter of scientists' interest in a rare animal. It is a chance to better understand how species survive in a changing world and what allows them to remain almost unchanged over millions of years. Each new discovery about it adds a piece to the vast mosaic of the history of life on Earth.
Today, its existence depends entirely on us. Preserving such relict species is our responsibility to the planet. By protecting its habitat, we are protecting not just a lizard, but a whole living history, the last chapter of an ancient genus that must not be interrupted.
