221 Amphibians and Reptiles Encyclopedia

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.