Sunday, March 26, 2017
The Ouroborus Cataphractus
The ouroboros is an ancient mythical creature. It
has been depicted as a serpent eating its own tail, presenting it in a ring
shape. The ouroboros thus symbolizes a continuous cycle, the beginning joins
the ending, or endlessness, perpetuity or eternity. This classical myth
originated from Egypt. There had been other depictions of the ouroboros in
other countries symbolising different purposes; in alchemy, cultural practices
and religious beliefs. Being a myth, the depiction of the ouroboros is
subjective to the vagary of human imagination. The depictions are mostly
archaic, grotesque and mysterious.
In the natural world, however, there exists an
earthly creature called the armadillo girdled lizard. Its scientific name is
Ouroborus Cataphractus. The image of this lizard offers an awesomely fitting
image for representing the ouroboros, but then this creature
is real. This lizard, despite
its tough fearsome spiky appearance, is anti-predator adaptive. In situations of
imminent danger, it firmly grips its tail end with its mouth and curls into a
ring, leaving its hard spiky leathery skin on the outside as armour, just like the
armadillo. The name armadillo girdled lizard is fitting, and this image more so
fitting as the ouroboros.
The armadillo girdled lizard is also known as the
armadillo lizard, golden armadillo lizard or armadillo spiny-tailed lizard.
This lizard is endemic to desert scrublands and dry rocky areas along the
western coast of South Africa. It is a viviparous diurnal lizard living in
social groups in the tens, hiding in rock cracks and crevices. Its adult size
can reach about half a meter in length and eight kilograms in weight, and its
lifespan may stretch to 25 years. The armadillo lizard is omnivorous and its
diet consists of mainly termites, scorpions, millipedes, spiders and certain
types of plants.
