"As we head into summer, NSW residents have been warned to look out for snakes and spiders as there has been an increase in bites across the state," St. John Ambulance NSW said on Friday.
"Australia has some of the most venomous snakes and spiders in the world. Time is critical when it comes to venomous bites, and they should be treated as a medical emergency," the head of the first aid service, Sarah Lance, was quoted as saying by various Australian media outlets.
New South Wales residents are the most likely in Australia to be bitten by snakes and spiders, according to official statistics. The creatures that pose the greatest threat are funnel-web spiders and the eastern brown snake.
Funnel-web spiders have powerful fangs capable of penetrating fingernails or soft shoesImage: Jean-Paul Ferrero/Ardea/imago images
On Thursday, the health minister of the neighboring state of Queensland was interrupted during a press conference by a huntsman spider scuttling on her foot. Huntsman spiders are harmless, but can grow to 12 centimeters (5 inches).
Earlier in December, health authorities already reported an increase in snake bites, but said there was plenty of antivenom to treat the bites, which remain a rare occurrence.
The cabinet of reptile curiosities
There are currently about 11,500 known reptile species. The variety of shapes and colors knows no bounds. And they adapt perfectly to their habitat — whether in the desert, the rainforest, or by the sea.
Image: Frank Glaw/SNSB-ZSM/dpa/picture alliance
Tiny - but a big discovery
Brookesia nana is the name of the smallest known reptile in the world. It was discovered in January 2021. Its tiny length of 13.5 to 19 millimeters and brown coloration make it barely noticeable on the forest floor. The tiny chameleon lives in a remote northern part of Madagascar. So far, this mini reptile is a loner — no other specimen of its kind has yet been found.
Image: Frank Glaw/SNSB-ZSM/dpa/picture alliance
Perfect Camouflage
Spotted this mini lizard? With its green color, the small, grass-green day gecko barely stands out from the foliage. This genus has no eyelids. Over the course of evolution, the upper and lower eyelids have fused to form a transparent membrane. You're most likely to encounter the small animals on the islands of the Indian Ocean or Madagascar.
Image: picture alliance/WILDLIFE
Don't pet me!
The thorny devil lives up to its name: Its entire body is covered in thorns. The lizard only lives in Australia. It is perfectly adapted to life in the dry: The creases on its body transport rain and condensation water directly into its mouth.
Image: Fotolia/Daniel Seidel
I am bigger than you think!
That's what the frill-necked lizard (chlamydosaurus) tries to communicate when it erects its skin flaps on the neck, threatening predators or rivals. The ruff is up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) in diameter. Frill-necked lizards belong to agama family and live exclusively in Australia and New Guinea.
Image: picture alliance/Arco Images GmbH
A master of colors
Another representative from the species-rich Madagascar: Panther chameleons are among the most colorful of their kind. The color spectrum ranges from gray to green to pink and purple. Panther chameleons are known for their crest, which runs along the entire length of their back, ending in an extension of the nose.
Image: picture alliance/blickwinkel/C. Lundqvist
A mini-triceratops
Somewhat smaller than its dinosaur counterpart, Jackson's three-horned chameleon measures 38 centimeters (15 inches) in body length. Still, the males of this species are significantly larger than many of its relatives. Jackson's chameleon is native to the mountain rainforests of East Africa.
Image: picture alliance/Hippocampus Bildarchiv
An algae-diver on Galapagos
The marine iguana of the Galapagos Islands is a remarkable diver. It forages underwater for up to 30 minutes. During this time, its heartbeat slows to ten beats per minute. Its skin is usually dark so that it warms up as quickly as possible after swimming in cold water.
Image: picture alliance/blickwinkel/McPHOTO
Giant dragon
The largest living lizard weighs up to 70 kilograms (154 pounds)! Even deer and wild boar are not too big for the komodo dragon to hunt down as prey. Its secret weapon is its poisonous saliva, which reduces blood clotting and can lead to shock. The komodo dragon lives exclusively on the smaller islands of Indonesia.
Image: picture alliance / Eibner-Pressefoto
A lover of good vantage points
The green tree python likes to live with a view. It has a unique habit of wrapping itself around branches at heights of up to 25 meters (82 feet). Hidden like this, it lurks for potential prey. The striking green animals live in northern Australia and New Guinea.
Image: picture alliance/chromorange/I.Schulze
Small head - big effect
The common egg eater snake is an impressive example of how appearances can be deceiving. The skin around its jaw can be stretched to three to four times its original size. The snake, which is barely as thick as a thumb, can even swallow chicken eggs whole. Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, where the snake hunts for prey, need to watch out for them.
Image: public domain
Camouflaged turtle
At first glance, the appearance of this mata mata seems anything but intentional. But the skin flaps on the body are ingenious: Because of them, the turtle living in the fresh water of South America appears virtually invisible under water. Any chameleon would be green with envy!
In November, meteorologists declared a La Nina event in the Pacific for the second consecutive year. La Nina describes an unusually high air pressure difference between South America and Indonesia, resulting in warm surface water moving to Southeast Asia and colder water flowing higher from the depths.
Advertisement
This leads to increased atmospheric circulation with colder air, affecting precipitation. La Nina is the counterpart of El Nino, which has the opposite effect.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the cooling phenomenon will only last until the beginning of 2022, but will be milder than 2021.
For Australia, it generally leads to greater rainfall, more tropical cyclones and cooler temperatures.
Australian scientists said November was the wettest in 122 years of records and among the coolest, due to La Nina. The continent has suffered through increasingly extreme droughts, bushfires and floods, all worsened by climate change. Despite this, Australia has taken a particularly resistant approach to reducing emissions.
The WMO said that even with La Nina, average temperatures are above the long-term average in many parts of the world, thanks to the record amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
It has forecast a milder winter for most parts of Europe. Northeast Asia, the Arctic, and the eastern part of North America are expected to be warmer, while northeastearn North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent are expected
to be cooler than usual.
The cooling effect of La Nina means that instead of being the absolute hottest year on record, 2021 will just be one of the top 10 hottest years.
