221 Amphibians and Reptiles Encyclopedia

Common name : Smiling turtle Scientific name : Chelus fimbriata Family : Chelidae Native to : South America Interesting fact : They catch fish by opening their mouths wide and creating a suction. Conservation status : Least Concern The mata mata turtle has a very unique appearance suited to blend in with the leaf litter […]

Common name : Galápagos marine iguana Scientific name : Amblyrhynchus cristatus Family : Iguanidae Native to : Galápagos Islands Interesting fact : Marine iguana sneezes out excess salt from its body through glands near its nose. This encrusted salt forms a white patch on its head. Conservation status : Vulnerable The marine iguana is the

Scientific name : Excidobates mysteriosus Family : Dendrobatidae Native to : Peru Interesting fact : Habitat loss and an increased interest in them as pets have caused these species to become endangered. Conservation status : Endangered If you look closely inside bromeliad plants, you might encounter red baby frogs with white polka dots. The Excidobates

Common name : Baron’s mantella, Variegated golden frog, Madagascar poison frog Scientific name : Mantella Baroni Family : Mantellidae Native to : Madagascar Conservation status : Least Concern Mantella Baroni is a beautifully coloured frog where the colours serve to stop their predators from eating them as their skins contain toxins. It is black with

Common name : Blood python, Red short-tailed python, Brongersmai’s short-tailed python Scientific name : Python brongersmai Family : Pythonidae Native to : Malay peninsula Interesting fact : Its skin is commercially harvested for leather. Conservation status : Least Concern Found in marshes and swamps of tropical forests is the non-venomous Malaysian blood python. It is

Common name : Long-nosed horned frog, Malayan leaf frog Scientific name : Megophrys nasuta Family : Megophryidae Native to : South-East Asia Conservation status : Least Concern The uniquely shaped large frog looks like a dried-up leaf with its brown colour, leaf vein-like patterns and warts. The mouth is flat and the head has sharp

Common name : Oustalet’s giant chameleon Scientific name : Furcifer oustaleti Family : Chamaeleonidae Native to : Madagascar Conservation status : Least Concern The Malagasy giant chameleon is quite large at 70 cm. They are grey to brown creatures with a protuberance on the head like a shield. They can change colour and have long

Common name : Malabar gliding frog Scientific name : Rhacophorus malabaricus Family : Rhacophoridae Native to : Western Ghats of India Interesting fact : The flying frog lays its eggs in foamy nests on trees above water, from which the hatched tadpoles drop into the water. Conservation status : Least Concern The Malabar flying frog

Common name : Hump-nosed lizard, Hump-snout lizard, Lyreshead lizard Scientific name : Lyriocephalus scutatus Family : Agamidae Native to : Sri Lanka Interesting fact : They are known to act dead if picked up and males exhibit beautiful breeding colours. Conservation status : Near Threatened Aptly named, the hump-nosed lizard’s nose has a rounded bulge.

Scientific name : Pituophis ruthveni Family : Colubridae Native to : Louisiana and Texas Interesting fact : The pocket gopher creates barriers by filling its burrow with sand, but the pine snake quickly digs through it with its pointed snout. Conservation status : Endangered Louisiana pine snake is a non-venomous snake adapted with a pointed

Scientific name : Aspidoscelis gypsi/Cnemidophorus gypsi Family : Teiidae Native to : United States Conservation status : Vulnerable The little white whiptail is found exclusively in the White Sands region of New Mexico, United States. Its powerful legs, long neck and tail and a body covered in scales are all well suited for a desert

Scientific name : Hydromantes brunus Family : Plethodontidae Native to : California, United States Interesting fact : During extremes of temperature they go into a state of slow metabolism to conserve energy. This is called going into ‘torpor’. Conservation status : Vulnerable Living within a range of only 20 miles are the limestone salamanders with

Common name : Lute turtle, Leathery turtle Scientific name : Dermochelys coriacea Family : Dermochelyidae Native to : Distributed around the world as they are migratory Interesting fact : They can stay under water for up to 85 minutes. Conservation status : Vulnerable The leatherback is the largest turtle in the world measuring 7 feet

Common name : Lataste’s viper, Snub-nosed viper, Snub-nosed adder Scientific name : Vipera latastei Family : Viperidae Native to : Portugal, Spain, Morocco and Algeria Conservation status : Vulnerable An upturned snout is unique to the venomous Lataste’s viper. It is grey in colour with a triangular head and a dark zig-zag pattern running down

Scientific name : Rhinechis scalaris Family : Colubridae Native to : Europe Interesting fact : The young snakes have the ladder pattern in black giving them their common name. Conservation status : Least Concern The ladder snake is non-venomous growing to an average length of 120 to 160 cm. Adults are yellow to brown with