Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bogabam Here, did you ever date someone, perhaps in your less wise years, who sported a green mohawk, some strange piercings and seemed to breathe out of their genitals. Well, whatever the outcome of that experience, it might also predispose you to having a bit of a soft spot for the Merry River turtle, which currently ties for thirty on the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered Reptiles List or the
EDGE List. The list details the one hundred most endangered reptiles in the world according to the Zoological Society of London, and the tie is three way. The Merry River turtle is joined by Bell's sawsheld turtle and the Shaco side
necked turtle. But what makes the Merry River turtle so captivating is the shock of vivid green algae that grows on its head, the strange spikes jutting out of its chin, and the fact that it can hunker down underwater for as long as three days, breathing out of gills located in its cloaca, which is the all purpose hole that serves for the reproductive, digestive and urinary systems of reptiles,
as well as other animals like birds and amphibians. It's possible that as few as a hundred and thirty six of these creatures exist in the wild. They find themselves on this precarious footing partly because they have a very small native range to begin with, they're very slow to reach sexual maturity, they don't breed until they're twenty five years old, and their docile temperament and outlandish looks made them very popular targets for the exotic pet trade in
the nineteen sixties and seventies. The Zoological Society of London's Edge of Existence program was launched in two thousand seven, but its first list that focused exclusively on reptiles came out in ten, backed by a study published in April
of that year in the journal Plos one. The EDGE list names exotic reptiles from far flung reaches of the globe, including the electric blue Williams dwarf gecko, the earthworm like Madagascar blind snake, and the eerily sculptural Indian crocodile the gariel. In a press release, Edge Reptiles coordinator Ricky Gums said the reptiles often received the short end of the stick
in conservation terms compared with the likes of birds and mammals. However, the Edge Reptile List highlights just how unique, vulnerable, and amazing these creatures really are. Not only that, but many reptiles represented on the list are the only survivors of ancient lineages of reptiles the date back millions of years to the age of dinosaurs. Gums said, if we lose these species, there will be nothing like them left on Earth.
Using ZSL's Edge methodology to create the world's first Edge Reptile List, and not only are we providing conservation scientists with a quantitative tool to prioritize species for conservation, but we also hope to bring the plight of these weird and wonderful creatures to the public's attention before they disappear. Number one on the Edge Reptile List, by the way, is the gold plated Madagascar big headed turtle, the world's
most critically endangered and evolutionarily distinct reptile. Today's episode was written by Jesslin Shields and produced by Tyler Clang. For more in this lots of other curious topics visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of i Heeart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,