221 Amphibians and Reptiles Encyclopedia by Sawan consists unknown and fun facts about the animals that can live both on land and in water and reptiles.✨✌📚
Common name : Qudeni dwarf chameleon Scientific name : Bradypodion nemorale Family : Chamaeleonidae Native to : South Africa Interesting fact : Its scientific name means ‘slow-footed’ Conservation status : Near Threatened The word nemorale is a reference to its forest habitat; it means living in groves or woods. The males are a riot of …
Common name : Siirt lizard Scientific name : Sistrurus catenatus catenatus Family : Lacertidae Native to : North-Eastern Syria, South-Eastern Turkey, South-Western Iran (the Central Zagros Mountains), and some parts of Northern Iraq Interesting fact : They shed their entire skins every few days for several weeks. Conservation status : Least Concern These cold-blooded creatures …
Common name : Yellow-blotched sawback Scientific name : Graptemys flavimaculata Family : Emydidae Native to : Southern United States Interesting fact : The patterns on the edge of the shell are used to gauge their age as they fade with time. Conservation status : Vulnerable They are also called ‘sawback turtles’ due to the saw-like …
Scientific name : Glyptemys insculpta Family : Emydidae Native to : North America Conservation status : Endangered The deep, circular rings on the wood turtle look like they were carved. They live near streams, creeks or rivers that are shallow with gravel or sandy bottoms. The turtle is active in the day, and feeds on …
Scientific name : Chalcides striatus Family : Scincidae Native to : France, Italy, Portugal and Spain Interesting fact : When disturbed, they run for cover under vegetation, rocks and burrows. Conservation status : Least Concern The Western three-toed skink, with its tiny head and limbs, looks like a snake and grows 43 cm long. Its …
Common name : Pacific pond turtle Scientific name : Actinemys marmorata/Emys marmorata Family : Emydidae Native to : United States and Mexico Conservation status : Vulnerable The Western pond turtle has a dark brown to olive-coloured shell that has lighter marbling patterns. The dark head and legs have yellow markings. Their natural habitats are slow-moving …
Common name : Plains hog-nose snake Scientific name : Heterodon nasicus Family : Colubridae Native to : Canada, United States and Mexico Interesting fact : It exhibits ‘bluff’ behaviour by acting dead, or pretending to strike victims without biting, hissing and flattening the neck like a hood, etc. Conservation status : Least Concern An upturned, …
Scientific name : Plethodon welleri Family : Plethodontidae Native to : United States Conservation status : Endangered Weller’s salamander lives in a small region called the Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Brassy blotches cover its black body. They live high up in rocky forests and hide under rocks, logs and debris. They come out only …
Common name : Northern crested newt, Great crested newt Scientific name : Triturus cristatus Family : Salamandridae Native to : Europe and Asia Interesting fact : Warty newt’s skin produces an acrid smelling secretion to warn predators. Conservation status : Least Concern The warty newt is aptly named due to its warty, dark skin that …
Common name : Parachute frogs Scientific name : Rhacophorus nigropalmatus Family : Rhacophoridae Native to : Malaysia and Borneo Interesting fact : Flying frogs can glide up to a distance of 50 feet. Conservation status : Least Concern Skin folds between limbs and extensively webbed feet help the Wallace’s flying frog glide from treetops. Sticky …
Common name : Viperine water snake Scientific name : Natrix maura Family : Colubridae Native to : Europe and Africa Interesting fact : When threatened they spray foul-smelling musk, liquid and faeces. Conservation status : Least Concern The Viperine snake gets its name from the fact that it strikes like the adder snake but without …
Scientific name : Viperidae Family : Viperidae Native to : Globally distributed with the exception of Australia and Antarctica Interesting fact : Sometimes vipers give ‘dry bites’ without injecting venom to conserve their venom which takes time to secrete again. Vipers are a group of highly venomous snakes that inject deadly toxins with their fangs. …
Common name : Beaked sea snake, Hook-nosed sea snake Scientific name : Enhydrina schistosa Family : Hydrophiidae Native to : Tropical Indo-pacific region Interesting fact : Beaked sea snakes can stay under water for five hours. Conservation status : Least Concern The Valakadyn sea snake has a beak-shaped projection on the snout. It is olive …
Scientific name : Myobatrachus gouldii Family : Myobatrachidae Native to : Western Australia Interesting fact : There is no tadpole stage and little frogs hatch directly from eggs. Conservation status : Least Concern The turtle frog is a strange looking frog which looks like a small turtle without its shell. The skin is pink and …
Scientific name : Agalychnis callidryas Family : Hyla Native to : America and Australia Interesting fact : The famous ‘ribbit’ sound is made by the male frog to attract females. Conservation status : At risk Tree frogs are a group of over 800 species of small frogs that spend most of their life on trees. …
Common name : Glass frog Family : Centrolenidae Native to : Central and South America and Mexico Interesting fact : Glass frogs have unique forward facing eyes instead of on the sides. One can see the organs inside the glass frog as its underside is completely translucent. Its skin colour is lime green to dark …
Scientific name : Gekko gecko Family : Gekkonidae Native to : Distributed from North-East India to Indo-Australian archipelago Interesting fact : One can literally see through the ears of these geckos. Conservation status : Not Assessed Tokay geckos have grainy, blue or grey skins with bright red or yellow spots. The toes are adapted for …
Scientific name : Ambystoma tigrinum Family : Ambystomatidae Native to : North America Interesting fact : The tiger salamander can re-grow its limbs if they are lost or damaged. Conservation status : Least Concern The tiger salamander has yellow stripes on a dark body resembling a tiger’s stripes. You can rarely see them as they …
Scientific name : Batrachoseps stebbinsi Family : Plethodontidae Native to : California, United States Interesting fact : As a way of defence, they detach their tails which wriggle and distract the predator. These tails can then grow back. Conservation status : Vulnerable The Tehachapi slender salamander is dark brown with shimmering speckles of copper red …
Scientific name : Oxyuranus Family : Elapidae Native to : Australia Interesting fact : Even if the prey escapes the bite of a taipan, it follows the scent of the prey and kills it eventually. Conservation status : Not Assessed The taipan is a group of highly venomous snakes. Three different species of taipans are …
Common name : Strawberry poison-dart frog Scientific name : Oophaga pumilio Family : Dendrobatidae Native to : Central America Interesting fact : The males also contributed to parenting by carrying water in their posterior openings to hydrate the eggs. Conservation status : Least Concern True to its name, the strawberry poison frog has a bright …
Scientific name : Astrotia stokesii Family : Hydrophiidae Native to : Indo-pacific ocean Interesting fact : These snakes sometimes swim in groups forming a line that is 10 feet wide and many miles long. Conservation status : Least Concern The stoke’s sea snake is quite heavy and stout for a sea snake. They are creamy …
Common name : Greek tortoise, Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise Scientific name : Testudo graeca Family : Testudinidae Native to : Spain, Africa, Europe and the Middle East Interesting fact : The spur-thighed tortoise is confused with the Hermanns tortoise as they look alike. Conservation status : Vulnerable The spur-thighed tortoise can be identified by a conical …
Scientific name : Naja sp. Family : Elapidae Native to : Africa, South-West Asia, South Asia and South-East Asia Interesting fact : They can spit venom up to a distance of 2 metres. Conservation status : Least Concern Spitting cobras can squirt the venom through holes in their fangs. This happens when muscles squeeze the …
Common name : Black spiny softshell, Eastern spiny softshell, Texas spiny softshell Scientific name : Apalone spinifera Family : Trionychidae Native to : North America Interesting fact : Spiny softshell turtles can breathe through their skins and stay under water for up to 5 hours. Conservation status : Least Concern A soft and round, skin-like …
Common name : Spiny-sided chameleon Scientific name : Trioceros laterispinis Family : Chamaeleonidae Native to : United Republic of Tanzania Conservation status : Vulnerable The spiny flanked chameleon is a spiky little creature with spines on its back, tail and sides. They are quite colourful with olive, brown-black and white markings on the body. As …
Common name : Beaded sea snake, Marbled sea snake, Eydoux’ sea snake Scientific name : Aipysurus eydouxii Family : Hydrophiidae Native to : Distributed from northern coast of Australia to South-East Asia Interesting fact : Spine-tailed sea snake is one of the only two sea snakes that have a diet of eggs only. Conservation status …
Scientific name : Lampropeltis getula holbrooki Family : Colubridae Native to : United States Interesting fact : When threatened they shake their tails and expel foul-smelling musk. Conservation status : Not Assessed Living in swamps and rivers is the speckled kingsnake with its ‘salt and pepper’ look. They are covered in black scales and yellow …
Common name : Speckled padloper Scientific name : Homopus signatus Family : Testudinidae Native to : South Africa and Namibia Interesting fact : The tortoise, unlike its relatives, has five toes on its forefeet. Conservation status : Near Threatened The smallest tortoise in the world, the speckled cape tortoise, has a flat shell to hide …
Common name : White caiman, Common caiman Scientific name : Caiman crocodilus Family : Alligatoridae Native to : Central and South America Interesting fact : Nest temperatures above 32 degrees produce female caimans or vice versa. Conservation status : Least Concern A bony ridge connects the eyes of the caiman like a pair of spectacles. …
Powered by WhatsApp Chat
