Kinds Of Reptiles List

There are a lot of varieties and kinds of reptiles list. The most popular ones include snakes, alligators and lizards. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals or ‘ectothermic’ which means that their body temperature can adjust to the temperatures of their surroundings. When they get too hot, all they need to do is to jump in cool water or hide in the shade and when they feel too cold and need to warm up, they go out in the sun or burrow into mud. Here are different kinds of reptiles list.

Lizards

Lizards are the largest group of reptiles and have about 5,000 different species across different parts of the world. It is believed that the history of these kinds of reptiles list back to two hundred million years. Over the years the evolutionary process led to a wide diversity resulting in the 5,000 species present today. Lizards are cold-blooded and have tails. Most species of lizards have scales which is a trait of all reptiles. Scales are replaced periodically through a shedding process. Lizards have strong sense of smell but they don’t have nose, instead they use their tongue to smell their surroundings and to locate prey as well.

Snakes

There are scientific evidences that suggest that snakes evolved from lizards. Snakes don’t have legs, ears and eyelids but they have developed certain adaptations to help them through the process of their lives. Snakes use the fork of their tongues to smell. This is very useful for snakes to hunt for preys in the absence of a sense of hearing and a sharp sight. There are three types of snakes that are considered as the deadliest. They are the Australian Brown Snake, Black Mamba and Saw-scaled Viper. One of its unique characteristics is the ability to survive without food for a long period of time. This is because snakes have slow metabolism.

Crocodiles and Alligators

The kinds of reptiles list continue with crocodiles and alligators. Crocodiles are the hunting reptiles and are far from being harmless even though they may appear calm as the float in water. Fish is the main food of crocodiles although young ones feed on insects. They can hold their slippery preys with their sharp pointed teeth. Big and old crocodiles bring danger to humans. Alligators can adapt to colder season better than crocodiles. They move their long tails from side to side so they can swim. They have shorter snouts than crocodiles and when they close their lower teeth are not exposed when they close their mouth whereas when a crocodile closes its mouth, a large tooth on the lower jaw still shows. Crocodiles and alligators are the largest reptiles. Most species are now considered to be endangered with their skin being used as leather to make luxury bags and shoes.

The different kinds of reptiles list is a long one and these are the most popular ones. This should come as a no surprise since reptiles are believed to have evolved about 340 million years ago.