Kinds Of Reptiles
Learn about kinds of reptiles. The class reptilia is one the numerous classes of classification of the various members of the kingdom Animalia. They are vertebrates and cold blooded animals. Although most of its members are not welcomed by man as they are destructive with some preferring man as their best prey, there are very few people who keep these animals as pets. Moreover, in the fields of biochemistry and biomedical, these animals have proved their worth by being used in a number research. This has since made these animals to be valued mostly by scientists.
The class reptilia have very many kinds of reptiles which can be categorized into different orders. Order is another level in the process of classification with other levels being species, family, class, phylum and kingdom. Here animals which share more closely related features are grouped together. This helps in a more focused and detailed study of the animals to be studied.
Different kinds of reptiles are classified into order crocodilia, order testudines and order squamata.
The Crocodilia
Among the members of the order crocodilia are the caiman, crocodiles, alligators and the gavials. Although these animals belong to the same order, they have different totally different lifestyles ranging from their habitats to what they eat.
The latest research has established that almost all kinds of reptiles in this particular order are carnivorous and are mostly nocturnal. They feed on fish, snakes with the adult members feeding on human beings.
Although crocodiles are found almost in every part of the globe, other members such the caiman have their own unique and specific habitats. For instance, the caiman are mostly found both S. America and the Caribbean with the alligators commonly found in most subtropical waterways and swamps.
The testudines
Members include the turtles and the tortoises. These kinds of reptiles are uniquely known for their unique hard shell which protects it from its predators. These shells are both the cage and the spine. Some have the ability to grant, a superior sense of smell and color vision. Members of this order are very slow and there exist over 340 species across the globe. Some of the species include the snapping turtles, soft-shell turtles, box turtles amongst other species. Unlike the order crocodilian, the testudines are among the man’s favorite pets. Some of these kinds of reptiles such as the turtles are treasured for their delicious meat with their shells used in interior design.
The squamata
Members of this order are also some of the most popular kinds of reptiles which are distributed evenly across the globe. The research which has been done by University of Michigan has since classified all kind of reptiles to belong to this order.
The most common members of this order are the snakes which are further classified as Ophidia and the lizards which are further classified as the Lacertilia. Both the Lacertilian and the Ophidia are suborders of the order squamata. The snakes’ favorite diets include insects and rodents. Most lizards and snakes are characterized with venomous bites however some are some species of snakes which do not possess poison.
Lizards are gentle as compared to snakes and they mostly feed on insects.
