We can find the common snapping turtle in small lakes with muddy bottoms, buried under piles of vegetation. This makes it easier for it to hide while hunting, and also to find the aquatic plants it loves to eat. It spends most of its time in the water, going onto dry land on a few rare occasions, such as when it needs to warm up in the sun or lay eggs.
Its mouth is shaped like a strong, bony beak with no teeth.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chelydraserpentina
DIET: omnivore
LENGTH: 20 inches (50 cm)
HABITAT: humid freshwater or saltwater environments
LIFE SPAN: 30 years
LEVEL OF DANGER: medium
REPRODUCTION: itlays20–30eggs in a hole not far from the water
ITS BITE IS DEADLY AND VERY FAST: an adult specimen can easily bite a person’s finger off.
THEY ARE UNSOCIABLE REPTILES THAT PREFER A SOLITARY LIFE. THEY CAN BE FAIRLY AGGRESSIVE AND ARE QUICK TO FEROCIOUSLY BITE ANYONE WHO COMES NEAR THEM.
GAL à PAGOS
TORTOISE
The Galàpagos tortoise is a gentle giant, weighing over 880 pounds (400 kg). It lives a lazy and peaceful life on the beautiful Pacific islands from which it takes its name, eating, wallowing in puddles, and basking in the sun.
Its legs are massive so as to be able to support its weight, although despite the considerable size of its large dome-shaped carapace, it is not actually that heavy: in fact, it is made up of honeycomb structures that make it light, and easy for the tortoise to carry around.
CURIOUSLY, THESE TORTOISES CAN LIVE WITHOUT EATING OR DRINKING FOR UP TO A YEAR.
Its diet consists of prickly pears, its favorite food, and other fruits, as well as flowers, leaves, and herbs— even really tough ones—which it easily cuts up with its powerful toothless jaws.
ALLIGATOR SNAPPING TURTLE
The alligator snapping turtle spends most of its life in the water. It lives in deep water, mostly in rivers with steep banks, but it can also be found in lakes and swamps. It can stay submerged for up to 20 minutes: it is so well camouflaged at the bottom of the lake that it is practically invisible!
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Macrochelystemminckii
DIET: carnivore
LENGTH: 40inches(100cm)
HABITAT: humidfreshwaterenvironments
LIFE SPAN: unknown
LEVEL OF DANGER: medium
REPRODUCTION: itlaysupto100eggs ondryland
IT DESERVES ITS NAME NOT ONLY FOR THE POWERFUL JAWS IN ITS LARGE HEAD BUT ALSO FOR ITS CARAPACE, WHICH HAS DISTINCT RIDGES THAT ARE SIMILAR TO THE SCALY SKIN ON AN ALLIGATOR’S BACK.
ITS JAWS ARE REALLY POWERFUL!
ALLIGATOR
SNAPPING TURTLE
It has a wormlike piece of flesh on the tip of its tongue. When the turtle’s hungry, it lies motionless at the bottom of the river or lake and opens its mouth wide, using its tongue as bait. It attracts the fish and then gobbles it up.
The eastern coral snake’s bright colors are an unmistakable sign that it is highly poisonous. It is a relative of the cobra and the mamba, and can be found almost everywhere in the southeastern United States. It spends most of the day hidden underground or in piles of leaves.
Lots of nonpoisonous nakes take advantage of the eastern coral snake’s reputation for being dangerous by mimicking its appearance. But there’s a trick to unmasking these impostors. First, the red bands on the eastern coral snake go all the way around its body, including its belly. Second, the red bands are always next to the yellow bands, while on harmless snakes they are next to the black bands. Easy, isn’t it?
THE EASTERN CORAL SNAKE DOES NOT LIKE TO BE DISTURBED. IF IT DOES HAPPEN, THE SNAKE HIDES ITS HEAD BETWEEN THE COILS OF ITS BODY, CURLS ITS TAIL, AND RATTLES IT, MAKING A POPPING SOUND AT THE SAME TIME.
The anaconda is very fond of water, in which it moves extremely gracefully. Its eyes and nostrils are on top of its head, so it can remain almost completely submerged for a very long time.
GREEN ANACONDA
The South American green anaconda can be considered the largest snake in the world. Although the reticulated python, its close relative, is slightly longer, the circumference of the green anaconda’s body, which measures more than 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter, makes it twice as heavy. In fact, it can weigh over 500 pounds (230 kg)
It has soft, dark green skin on its back, with oval, brown spots that gradually become yellow on the belly.
RETICULATED PYTHON
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Eunectes murinus
DIET: carnivore
LENGTH: 40 feet (12 m)
HABITAT: humid freshwater environments in tropical rainforests
LIFE SPAN: 10 years
LEVEL OF DANGER: high
REPRODUCTION: it’s ovoviviparous; it can give birth to up to 35 young at a time
Anacondas are not poisonous, but they coil their muscular body around captured prey and squeeze it until it suffocates.
AT THIS POINT, THEY SWALLOW IT WHOLE, REGARDLESS OF ITS SIZE, THANKS TO THEIR DISTINCTIVE JAWS, WHICH ARE JOINED BY AN ELASTIC LIGAMENT.
FLYING DRAGON LIZARD
In the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, there is a small reptile that flies through the air rather than walk on the ground: the flying dragon lizard. Gliding from one tree to another is a necessary skill for this reptile: it has to flee from predators, look for a partner, and find food.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Draco volans
DIET: insectivore
LENGTH: 8inches(21cm)
HABITAT: tropicalrainforests
LIFE SPAN: unknown
LEVEL OF DANGER: low
REPRODUCTION: theeggsarelaid ontheground,inaholethatthefemale digswithhersnout;themotherprotects themfiercelyforonedayandthenleaves them to their fate
Flying dragon lizards have movable elongated ribs, each covered with a fold of skin.
The ribs rest flat against the body when not in use, but they become wings when they are unfurled, allowing the lizard to glide up to 200 feet (60 m)!
LAYOUT
OF THE RIBS
Males and females can be recognized by the color of the undersides of their wings: blue for a male, and yellow for a female. The flap of skin below the neck is also differently colored: bright yellow if it’s a male, and gray if it’s a female.
THISISAMALE!
WHEN RESTING, THE FLYING DRAGON IS PERFECTLY CAMOUFLAGED
JACKSON’S CHAMELEON
The Jackson’s chameleon relies on sight to locate both prey and predators as it moves through the branches.
Its eyes—which move independently—provide 360-degree vision. It can use one eye to find food, and the other to scan its surroundings in search of potential predators.
The male is easily recognizable, thanks to the three distinct horns on its snout: one on the nose, and two above the eyes. Its name derives from a famous 19th-century English naturalist, Frederick John Jackson, who made several trips to Africa during his lifetime.
FREDERICK JOHN JACKSON
ITS EYES MOVE INDEPENDENTLY AND PROVIDE 360-DEGREE VISION.
A male earns the right to a mate by fighting other suitors. It starts by threatening the other male, with its mouth wide open and changing the color of its skin to display bold colors.
But if this doesn’t work, the males go into a head-to-head fight They lock their horns and try to push the other male off the branch.
THE MALE HAS THREE HORNS ON ITS SNOUT.
AMERICAN GREEN ANOLE
The American green anole is an arboreal lizard, which means it lives in bushes and on the branches of trees, hiding among the leaves. The sticky pads on its toes allow it to walk easily on the vertical surfaces of trunks and fences: an excellent advantage when it needs to escape!
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Anolis carolinensis
DIET: insectivore
LENGTH: 8 inches (20 cm)
HABITAT: forests
LIFE SPAN: 8 years
LEVEL OF DANGER: low
REPRODUCTION: the female lays eggs in damp soil
The male attracts the attention of females by bobbing its head and extending the dewlap, which is the flap of skin beneath the head and neck. The dewlap is usually red, so it is clearly visible during the courtship in order to attract a partner, but it also wards off rivals.
GULP
This reptile can be found throughout the southeastern United States.
Each male has its own territory, the size of which varies from 540 to 1,080 square feet (50 to 100 square meters). Generally, the larger the male, the larger the territory it is able to protect.
MEXICAN MOLE
LIZARD
Don’t be fooled by its appearance: the Mexican mole lizard has a pink body covered in rings, making it look more like an earthworm than a reptile. We can guess that it lives underground because of its tiny eyes. It spends the cooler hours of the day aboveground, moving deeper underground when it gets hotter.
MEXICAN MOLE LIZARDS RARELY COME OUT OF THEIR TUNNELS, AND IF THEY DO, IT IS ONLY AT NIGHT, WHEN THEY SEARCH FOR FOOD.
This reptile’s diet consists of anything it manages to capture and swallow: ants, caterpillars, earthworms, and lots of small invertebrates.
AS ITS EYESIGHT ISN’T GOOD DUE TO ITS TINY EYES, IT TRACKS ITS PREY BY FOLLOWING THE VIBRATIONS IN THE GROUND.
Mexican mole lizards build tunnels by pushing with their hard heads and digging with their front legs, the only legs they have. Their legs are small but strong, and are equipped with claws they use to move the earth, as well as to stabilize the walls of the tunnel before they continue to dig.
Humid areas and marshes are the ideal habitat for the American alligator, the largest reptile in North America, weighing over 770 pounds (350 kg) and more than 13 feet (4 m) long. It has approximately 80 conical-shaped teeth, and it replaces its teeth as they get worn down or fall out. An alligator may go through 3,000 teeth in its lifetime. Unlike crocodiles, the fourth tooth in the lower jaw is not visible when its mouth is closed.
This reptile is an opportunistic carnivore. It swallows whatever it manages to put in its mouth, depending on the size, and sometimes doesn’t even say no to berries and fruit. It often hunts in water, where it is quick and agile.
SOME ALLIGATORS BALANCE STICKS AND TWIGS ON THEIR HEADS LIKE BAIT, TO ATTRACT BIRDS IN SEARCH OF NESTING MATERIAL.
THEY CAN WEIGH OVER 770 POUNDS (350 KG) AND BE MORE THAN 13 FEET (4 M) LONG.
They have a very curious courtship ritual: to attract the females, the male alligators bellow loudly by sucking air into their lungs and blowing it out in intermittent roars. At the same time, they slap the water with their heads and vibrate their bodies, causing the water around them to spray up.
