Pterodactyloidea Pterodactyloidea Pterodactyloidea (derived from the Greek words "πτερόν" ("pterón", for usual "ptéryx") "wing", and "δάκτυλος" ("dáctylos") "finger" meaning "winged finger", "wing-finger" or "finger-wing") is one of the two traditional suborders of pterosaurs ("wing lizards"), and contains the most derived members of this group of flying reptiles. They appeared during the middle Jurassic Period, and differ from the basal (though paraphyletic) rhamphorhynchoids by their short tails and long wing metacarpals (hand bones). The most advanced forms also lack teeth, and by the late Cretaceous, all known pterodactyloids were toothless. Many species had well developed crests on the skull, a form of
Sand lizard is strictly protected under UK law – as it is throughout most of Europe (it is a European Protected Species). This is in contrast to "L. a. exigua", whose Russian name translates as the "common lizard". The UK Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust coordinates conservation action for the sand lizard, including a successful captive-breeding and reintroduction programme. The female sand lizard lays eggs in loose sand in a sunny location, leaving them to be incubated by the warmth of the ground. When a female sand lizard mates with two or more males, sperm competition within the female's reproductive tract may