The skeleton is an internal support structure composed of many individual, rigid organs called bones. Bones serve to provide movement of the body (in tandem with muscles and cartilage), as well as to protect internal organs and produce the hematocytes (blood cells) that deliver oxygen and fight infectious diseases. The earliest skeletons developed with the evolution of the first primitive fishes, having first evolved a spine from what was once a flexible notochord. From there, vertebrates (animals with a backbone) would evolve a number of different body styles, though always maintaining the same basic skeletal structure: 1 head, 1 body, 2 arms, 2 legs, and 1 tail. In time, some creatures would adapt in ways to reduce these body parts if the parts in question were no longer subject to necessary selection pressures that came with a changing environment. Examples would include the vestigial femurs of whales that remain in their bodies, or the curved coccyx bone of humans from which there was once a tail (though the coccyx has evolved to provide other functions as well). In rare occasions the bones of deceased animals can become fossils if the environmental conditions are right.
$120.00
-Size: 11"L -Species: Alligator mississippiensis -Notes: A great example of one of America's top predators. The American Alligator can grow to lengths of up to 14' long. This specimen is missing a small portion of bone from the back of the skull, as is reflected in the final image. Metal...
$40.00
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-Size: 1&3/4"L x 13/16"H -Species: Salvator merianae -Notes: A beautiful little skull of an immature specimen. This species is the largest of the Tegu lizards, and will be partially warm-blooded during the breeding season. -Location: eastern and central South America This item can not be sent outside of the USA....
$140.00
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-Bottle Size: 5&9/16"H -Species: Nerodia fasciata -Notes: A remarkable specimen of a highly aquatic colubrid snake. They are also known as "southern water snakes." -Location: Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sudan, and Uganda
$75.00
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-Vial Size: large: 3&13/16"L x 1"W small: 2&7/8"L x 13/16"W -Species: undetermined -Notes: These beautiful chameleon specimens come in two sizes and also feature the digested remains of their last meals. You will receive a different specimen of the same amazing quality. -Location: Africa
$450.00
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-Bottle Size: 12&1/2"H x 3"W -Species: Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus -Notes: A remarkable and large specimen of a venomous colubrid snake. -Location: Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sudan, and Uganda.
$50.00
-Size: 2"L x 1"H -Species: Iguana iguana -Notes: A beautiful little skull of an immature specimen. This arboreal lizard is well-known the world over, and is typically referred to as the "American iguana" or simply "iguana." -Location: Central America, South America, the Caribbean (introduced to Fiji, Florida, Texas, and Hawaii)...
$225.00
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-Shadow box size: 6"L x 8"W x 2&1/2" deep -Species: Triceros jacksonii -Notes: A beautifully posed skeleton of a Jackson's Chameleon (also known as "Jackson's horned chameleon," as well as the "Kikuyu three-horned chameleon"). It was named for the English governor of Kenya, explorer and ornithologist Frederick John Jackson. -Location: East...
$200.00
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-Size: 10&1/2"L -Species: Crocodylus niloticus -Notes: A fantastic skull from the largest fresh-water predator in Africa. While males can grow to over 16' on average, some examples have been recorded at over 20.' -Location: Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa This item can not be sent outside of the USA.
$165.00
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-Dome size: 5"W x 4&3/4"H -Species: Python reticulatus -Notes: The Reticulated Python is the world's longest snake, reaching lengths of up to 23' long. -Location: Southeast Asia This item can not be sent outside of the USA.
$25.00
-Size: 2"L -Species: Pseudemys concinna -Notes: A perfect example of a classic freshwater turtle (terrapin) skull. It is believed that the word "cooter" comes from the African word "kuta" which means "turtle" in the Bambara and Malinké languages, brought to America by African slaves. -Location: Eastern and southern Africa This item...