Reptiles

Like humans, captive Komodo dragons tend to impose their microbes upon their environments.

Captive Komodo Dragons Share Their Teeming Microbiome with Their Environment, Just Like Us

Komodos could be the perfect model for studying host-microbe interactions

Crocodiles sun themselves at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Buena Vista, Florida in 2012.

Forced Closer to Humans, Crocodiles Face Their Greatest Existential Threat

These armored reptiles have long been considered indestructible, but new threats are shifting the equation

An artistic rendering shows an early proto turtle Eunotosaurus (foreground) burrowing into the banks of a dried-up pond to escape the harsh arid environment present 260 million years ago in South Africa.

Why the Turtle Grew a Shell—It's More Than Safety

Its armor may have developed for more than safety

The Ichthyornis is a toothed bird that links birds with reptiles.

The "Sistine Chapel of Evolution" Is in New Haven, Connecticut

Charles Darwin never visited the Yale museum, but you can, and see for yourself the specimens that he praised as the best evidence for his theory

When Dinosaurs Roamed the (Not Yet) Petrified Forest

Recent surprise discoveries at the national park have prompted a complete rethinking about the creatures of the Jurassic Era

These ancient amber fossils from Burma in Southeast Asia help complete the patchy record of lizard evolution.

Pint-Sized Lizards Trapped in Amber Give Clues to Life 100 Million Years Ago

The trove of Cretaceous reptiles includes an early relative of the chameleon—the oldest yet discovered

Cu Rua photographed in 2011 during a health check

Beloved Giant Turtle Dies, Leaving Only Three Alive on Earth

The recent death of Cu Rua pushes the Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle to the brink of extinction

This monitor lizard is definitely not thinking of eating poisonous toads.

Scientists Trained Monitor Lizards Not to Chow Down on Poisonous Toads

And they did it by feeding them smaller and less-poisonous toads

This photo of two short-nosed sea snakes alerted researchers to the species' survival, even though they were thought to be extinct for 15 years.

They’re Back: Supposedly Extinct Sea Snakes Have Been Found in Australia

Nearly 15 years later and about 1,000 miles away from the last sighting, the snakes could be making a comeback

Yet Another Highly-Venomous Snake Discovered in Australia

The Kimberley death adder is one of the most venomous snakes in the world

Boa constrictors seem to deliver death not through suffocation, but by cutting off blood flow to the heart and brain.

Boa Constrictors Kill By Stopping Blood Circulation

The popular belief that boas and other constricting snakes deal death by suffocation seems to be a flawed assumption

In a new video released by the WWF, viewers can glide through the Great Barrier Reef on the back of a sea turtle.

Researchers Strapped a Go-Pro to a Sea Turtle, and Here’s What They Got

See the Great Barrier Reef from a turtle's view

The ancestor of all living snakes, depicted on the prowl in the South American forests it likely inhabited 110 million years ago, likely possessed a pair of tiny hind limbs and hunted at night.

The Mother of All Snakes Looked Surprisingly Modern

New research indicates why the slithery beast's body appears pretty much as it did 110 million years ago

A female specimen of the newly discovered Alto Tambo woodlizard.

New Dwarf Dragons Have Been Found in the Andes

It seems that every time herpetologists wander into the Andean cloud forests, they emerge with colorful lizard species in tow

Unsurprisingly, some giant tortoises take issue with humans trying to watch them breed.

Tortoise Defends His Lady in a Super Slow Chase

Here’s what happens when you interrupt two giant reptiles just trying to get in a bit of quality time together

Geckos have amazingly-structured feet, but new research indicates that the lizards' skin also possesses exceptional properties.

Water Drops Leap Off Gecko Skin Thanks to Tiny Spines

Specialized hydrophobic structures on gecko skin encourage dewdrops to be swept away by the wind or to collide and shoot off one another like pool balls

L. larvaepartus (male, left, and female) from Indonesia is the only frog ever discovered to birth live tadpoles.

This Exotic Frog Skips the Eggs, Gives Birth to Live Tadpoles

The species is one of just a handful of frogs that use internal fertilization, and the only one found that births tadpoles

Thanks to millions of microscopic hair-like structures, a gecko's foot can resist pulling forces up to 20 times the lizard's own weight.

Geckos Have a Surprisingly Strong Death Grip

Gecko toes remain firmly stuck in place even after the animal dies, implying that the lizards do not actively control their clinginess

Now a Person Can Scramble Up a Wall Just Like a Gecko

Or use the same material to catch wayward space trash

India Once Released 25,000 Flesh-Eating Turtles Into the Ganges

A plan to clean up corpses failed due to lack of planning

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