All reptiles have dry skin, which is protected by tough scales or horny plates. They are cold-blooded, which means their body temperature matches their surroundings. Most species of reptile eat other animals and lay eggs on land to produce young. Lizards are the most common type of reptile.
Panther chameleon
Chameleons are a special type of lizard with a tail that they use as a fifth limb when they are climbing in trees. Panther chameleons live in Madagascar and eat mostly insects. Color is a prominent feature of the panther, and there is an abundance of beautiful and unique colors being produced. Some will be surprised to learn that despite viral videos and TV paint commercials, the panther chameleon does not change color to instantly match any background it is placed against. Panthers do exhibit color change, though, for a variety of reasons, including a method of communication, to better absorb or reflect radiant heat, and to blend in with natural habitat.
Crocodiles and alligators
The biggest reptiles are crocodiles and alligators. They hunt in lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. Their strong jaws and sharp teeth can kill prey as large as zebras. Crocodiles have a more pointed snout than alligators. With teeth specialized just for spearing, neither family even bothers to chew its food — they swallow large chunks or the entire animal whole.
As if that weren’t scary enough, crocodilians have incredibly powerful senses to detect their prey. Their eyesight above water is top notch, and thanks to vertical pupils that can open up extra wide to let in additional light, they also have keen night vision. And even though you can’t see their ears, don’t be fooled — these small slits are sensitive enough to hear offspring calling from inside their eggs. Even their sense of smell is highly developed due to special organs in their snouts.
Snakes
All snakes catch live prey, which they swallow whole. Some snakes, such as cobras, kill their prey by injecting venom into them using their two needle-like teeth, called fangs. About once a month snakes shed their skin, a process called ecdysis that makes room for growth and gets rid of parasites. They rub against a tree branch or other object, and then slither out of their skin head first, leaving it discarded inside-out.
Most snakes lay eggs, but some species—like sea snakes—give live birth to young. Very few snakes pay any attention to their eggs, with the exception of pythons, which incubate their eggs.
Tortoises and turtles
Tortoises live on land and walk quite slowly on all four legs. Turtles spend most of their time in water and have webbed feet or flippers for swimming. The bodies of tortoises and turtles are both shielded by a shell, the upper part of which is called carapace, with the lower portion called a plastron. The carapace and the plastron are attached by a bridge, which means that though the head and limbs of a turtle or tortoise may be withdrawn from the shell, the whole body can never be totally detached from it. These reptiles are generally reclusive and shy in nature.
Other reptiles
Crocodiles and alligators walk on all four legs on land and use their long, powerful tails to swim in water. Snakes have no legs and move by flexing their long body. Tortoises and turtles are the only reptiles with a bony shell, which protects the body like a suit of armour.
Scaly skin
Reptiles have dry, scaly skin. But they don’t need moisturizer! Their special covering actually helps them hold in moisture and lets them live in dry places.
Reptile scales are not separate, detachable structures — like fish scales. Instead, they are connected in a “sheet,” which is the outermost layer of skin. Every so often, this layer of skin is shed and replaced. In some reptiles the skin flakes off in chunks. In snakes, the skin is usually shed in one piece.
What about turtles and tortoises? You may not think of their shells as being scaly, but they are! They are complex structures made up of bones and scales that develop from the outer layer of skin. It’s natural body armor!
Tail
Some lizards, salamanders and tuatara when caught by the tail will shed part of it in attempting to escape. In many species the detached tail will continue to wriggle, creating a deceptive sense of continued struggle, and distracting the predator’s attention from the fleeing prey animal. Depending upon the species, the animal may be able to partially regenerate its tail, typically over a period of weeks or months. Though functional, the new tail section often is shorter and will contain cartilage rather than regenerated vertebrae of bone, and in colour and texture the skin of the regenerated organ generally differs distinctly from its original appearance.
Eye
While birds and most reptiles have a ring of bones around each eye that supports the eyeball (the sclerotic ring), crocodilians lack these bones, just like mammals and snakes.
Some lizards and tuatara contain a third eye used for detecting changes in ambient light conditions, called a parietal eye, located on the top of their head. This eye contains a cornea, lens, and retina like the lateral eyes, but it is simpler in structure. Only two types of neurons are in this eye: photoreceptors and ganglion cells.
Snakes do not possess eyelids. A scale that is actually part of the skin, a spectacle, protects the eyelids. During ecdysis, the spectacle sheds from the eye along with the rest of its skin. Spectacles turn a light blue as it prepares to shed. If the spectacle is not removed during ecdysis, this can lead to eye damage.
In crocodiles, a third transparent eyelid moves sideways across the eye (nictitating membrane). This eyelid protects the otherwise ‘open’ eyes when they submerge and attack under water. The third eyelid also conceals the liquid excretions produced by the crocodilian tear glands. However, if it is out of the water for any length of time, the resulting dryness in its eyes will cause visible tears to be formed. This is possibly why both factual and fictional accounts tell of crocodilians weeping over their prey on a river bank. They cannot focus underwater, meaning other senses are more important when submerged underwater.
Tongue
When a snake’s tongue is flicked out into the air, receptors on the tongue pick up minuscule chemical particles, which are perceived as scent. When the tongue is retracted into its sheath, the tips of the tongue fit neatly into the Jacobson’s organ, sending the chemical information that has been gathered through the organ and to the brain, where the information is quickly processed and analyzed so that the snake can act promptly on it.
It is believed that the snake’s tongue is split so that it knows which direction to move based on the preponderance of chemical particles on one side of its forked tongue in relation to a lesser degree of particles on the other side of the tongue. Think of it as akin to having 3-D glasses for the tongue. The chemical levels are slightly different on the right than the left, but together they make a whole story. This information is subtle, and small animals are fast, so it must be processed as speedily as possible for the snake to catch its dinner.
Toes
Chameleons are dactyl, meaning on each foot the five toes are fused into a group of two and a group of three. These fancy feet allow the chameleon to grab tightly onto narrow branches. Each toe still has a claw.
Common basilisks are also known as the Jesus Lizard because of their ability to run across water surfaces for short distances. They have large hind feet with fringes on the toes which increase the surface area allowing them to “walk on water.” Other desert lizard species use fringed toes to run across shifting sand.
Geckos have bristle-like structures, called setae on the bottom of their feet. These setae allow the lizard to adhere to surfaces without the use of liquids or surface tension. This is why you often see geckos climbing walls and glass.
Picture Credit : Google