Reptiles

Kosmoi.com Life Animals Reptile : Alligator, Snakes • Posters

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Alligators, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and turtles are all reptiles. Reptiles are air-breathing animals with backbones and a covering of tough scales. There are almost 6,000 species. Most reptiles are found on land, but some live in the sea or in fresh water. Reptiles spend most of their time on land and lay soft-shelled eggs. The young look like small adults. They cannot live in cold places because they need warmth to give them energy.

Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Reptilia

Contains Orders :

Order Testudines (turtles)

Turtles (including tortoises and terrapins) are reptiles most of whose body is shielded by a special shell. They are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Chelonia.

There are two major groups of turtles - sea turtles, which grow to large sizes and live in the oceans in the temperate and tropical regions of the earth, and fresh-water turtles. Fresh-water turtles which spend a lot of time on the land are generally called tortoises. In the UK fresh-water turtles are known as terrapins. Fresh-water turtles are generally much smaller, ranging in size from a few centimetres to a few feet long. All turtles have a protective shell around their bodies. The top part of their case is called the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge.

The size of turtles can differ from a few centimetres to up to two meters. Turtles generally live a long time; some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 years.

The first turtles already existed in the era of the dinosaurs, some 200 million years ago.

Even though they spend large amounts of their lives under the water, turtles are air-breathing reptiles. They must surface at regular intervals to refill their lungs with fresh air. They also spend part of their lives on dry land. Sea turtles lay their eggs on dry sandy beaches, and are highly endangered.

Order Rhynchocephalia (tuataras from New Zealand)

The tuatara is the only surviving member of the order Rhynchocephalia. It is native to a small number of islands off New Zealand and has been classified as an endangered species since 1895.

Though it resembles a lizard, it has several characteristics unique among reptiles. Its teeth are fused to its jaw bone. It thrives in much lower temperatures than are tolerated by most reptiles, preferring temperatures of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (16-21 C); temperatures over 80 (27) degrees are fatal. It is extremely long-lived, with individuals commonly living for over a century, and reproduces very slowly: tuataras take at least ten years to reach sexual maturity, females only lay eggs once every four years, and it takes between 12 and 15 months after copulation for a new tuatara to hatch from its egg. Like some lizards, it has a third eye on the top of its head; in adult animals a scale grows over the eye, and its purpose isn't clear.

Order Squamata (lizards and snakes)

Lizards are reptiles of the order Squamata, usually four-legged, with external ear openings and movable eyelids. Species range in adult length from a few centimeters (some Caribbean and Hawaiian geckos) to nearly three meters (Komodo dragons).

Some lizard species such as "glass snakes" have no functional legs, though there are some vestigal skeletal leg structures. They are distinguished from true snakes by the presence of eyelids and ears.

Many lizards can change color in response to their environments or in times of stress. The most familiar example is the chameleon, but more subtle color changes occur in other lizard species as well.

Lizards typically feed on insects or rodents. A few species are omnivorous and can also eat plants. Only two lizard species are poisonous: the Mexican beaded lizard and the Gila monster, both of which live in northern Mexico and southern Texas. They are typically not hazardous to humans as their poison is introduced slowly by chewing, rather than injected as with most poisonous snakes. Other small lizards are harmless to humans (most species native to North America, for example, are incapable of drawing blood with their bites).

Most lizards lay eggs, though a few species are capable of live birth.

Snakes

Snakes are small, legless reptiles, and, like all reptiles, have scales and tails. They range in size from 3 inches long to 20 feet long. Snakes need camouflage, so their scales may be different colors; black, green, white, and gray with brown diamonds, and many more. They are cold blooded, that means that their blood temperature is the same as their environment. A normal life span can be anywhere from 30 years to 40 years, depending on the species.

Order Crocodilia (crocodiles and alligators)

Crocodiles

Crocodile is the common name for a member of the Crocodylia, a group of Archosaurs originating in the Triassic. Crocodiles are often referred to as "crocs".

The crocodile is a mighty reptile that lives in a large portion of the Eastern Hemisphere on the continents of Africa, Asia, and Australia. Crocodiles tend to live in slow-moving rivers and feed on a wide variety of living and dead mammals and fish. Contrary to popular belief, crocodiles tend to not be man eaters but will eat just about anything if hungry enough. Crocodiles are also very fast, even out of water. Crocodiles have extremely powerful jaws (when their mouth is open) and razor-sharp teeth for tearing flesh, but cannot open their mouth if it is held closed.

The largest species of crocodile is the Nile crocodile, which lives in Africa.

There are two distinct species of crocodile in Australia (and maybe other countries?) - freshwater crocodiles, which tend to be smaller and less aggressive, and saltwater crocodiles, which are extremely dangerous and can grow to vast size.

The crocodile is related to alligators and caymans.

Crocodiles in the wild are a protected species, but they also are farmed commercially in special Crocodile Farms, and their hide is tanned into leather and used to make handbags, boots etc, while crocodile meat is considered a delicacy by connoisseurs.

Alligator

Alligator (Spanish el lagarto, "the lizard"), a reptile related closely to the crocodile. Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Reptilia, Order Crocodilia

Animals

More than a million different kinds of animals inhabit the Earth. The exact number is not known, for new kinds are continually being discovered. They live in the seas, from the surface down to the black depths where no ray of light penetrates. On mountaintops and in deserts, in mud and in hot pools some form of animal life may be found. Animals are infinitely varied in form, size, and habits. The smallest animals are bits of protoplasm that can be seen only with a microscope. The largest, the blue whales, may be more than 100 feet (30 meters) long and weigh 300,000 pounds (136,000 kilograms). Animals are classified into amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles.