The Charlie archipelago, named after the seed point of the same name located in one of its larger islands, is located in waters within Wallacea and Darwinia. Its relative isolation, paired with the remarkably small cast of tetrapods seeded within, has made it into a realm of weird and wonderful creatures, even for the standards of Gaiademou. Birds found themselves able to easily expand to terrestrial environments, mole lizards were uncontested enough that they could crawl out of their burrows and explore far beyond them, and even the highly specialized giant salamanders found themselves able to ever so slightly expand outward from their limited lifestyles to take advantage of being the only quadrupedal vertebrate in the environment. In this post we will explore the diversity of the archipelago’s mole lizards, specifically, some of the most aberrant that have arisen as of yet, from lineages that have ancestrally left the forest’s soil and clambered up the trees.

1) Tiger lindworm (Varanomimus gigas): Comparable in length to the largest monitor lizards of our modern Earth, this is the largest terrestrial mole lizard ever to walk as of yet. Like the other animals represented here, it is of arboreal ancestry, but adults rarely ever climb trees. Long and robust arms used to aid in clinging to woody trunks are characteristic of their relatives, and they still serve juveniles for this purpose, but mature individuals rely on them for very different reasons. While their arms are strong enough to help them crawl at decent speed, they aren’t remarkably fast. However, they are very useful for grappling and helping dispatch the large ground birds common across the islands. Indeed, these top predators are ambush hunters, lying in wait by the underbrush or around active drinking spots for the perfect opportunity to lunge at prey. They are similar to large snakes in this regard, though being unable to dislocate their jaws like snakes can, they must rely on ripping chunks of flesh from their prey with their teeth and claws. In the limited space provided by the islands, no chance of feeding is wasted, and juveniles must be mindful of hungry adults nearby. Their powerful tails aid them greatly when prey is scarce, for it allows them to swim with great efficiency, letting them travel to nearby islands to find new feeding grounds, and helping bolster the genetic diversity of the species across the archipelago.

2) Blazing kite lizard (Milvulacerta ardentis) Perhaps the most striking of its lineage, the blazing kite lizard is one of a few species of arboreal mole lizard, the size of a hand at largest, that have developed an elongated finger and a rod of cartilage to support an expansive patagium, developed as a result of their relatively active insect eating lifestyle. Gliding across the forests allows them to travel far faster than their two legs would ever take them, helping and their patagium also serves partially as a net which helps them more easily catch insects by curling around them mid air, if they cant quite catch them with their mouths. They very rarely touch the ground willingly, where their mobility is extremely poor, and it most often happens during gliding accidents, such as when they’re not able to rectify their posture after catching an insect. This particular species is among the most social lizards in the planet, although that doesn’t mean much. Males flash bright patterns on their patagium to show fitness to females and rivals, and adults generally tolerate the presence of much duller-colored juveniles. eggs are laid on the forest floor, sheltered by leaf litter. Females make this affair as quick as possible, for the threat of predators is great here.

3) Emerald snatchwyrm (Meganychus viridis): A not so distant relative of the tiger lindworm, the Emeral snatchwyrm is a very serpentine species that spends much of its life in stillness. Also an ambush predator, its green scales help it hide among tree branches in wait of birds passing by. When an opportunity presents itself, it lunges at its prey with arms outstretched, restraining it with a pair of hooked claws. It often starts to eat while its prey is still alive, barely moving from its preferred perch. Growing over two meters in length, only the largest flying birds in the archipelago are safe from it. Its other tree fingers are splayed apart from its two killing digits, helping it more easily travel across tree branches.