A caiman lizard is an imposing reptile.  It has sharp claws, strong jaws, and can grow to be five feet long.   Fortunately for us, caiman lizards feed almost exclusively on snails and other aquatic invertebrates, which are plentiful in the Amazon River basin where it lives.

Because of its large size and bright coloration, caiman lizards have become very popular in the pet trade.  As a result of this, though, scientists don’t know much about how these lizards function in their natural habitat, since most of our knowledge of this species comes from observing captive lizards.  What we do know is that caiman lizards like to climb, are excellent swimmers, and are considered to be quite intelligent.

In the wild, caiman lizards have been seen taking different approaches to grabbing a snail depending on how it is situated.  In captivity, these lizards make excellent problem solvers, figuring out how to open containers that had food in them.  Caiman lizards can even recognize their owners, and react accordingly.  Not bad for something that spends most of its life crunching snails.

When asked to think of a lizard, most people imagine something that is scaly, cold blooded, and lays eggs.  Zootoca vivipara is a little different from most lizards though.  It is one of only three species of lizards that live on the British Isles, but is also found throughout Eurasia, and its range extends past the Arctic Circle, farther north than any other reptile.  That in itself is an accomplishment, but this lizard is known for something else.  You see, this lizard is known as the viviparous lizard, because instead of laying eggs like most reptiles, this lizard gives birth to live young.

The reason for this unusual adaptation is the viviparous lizard’s (or common lizard, as some people call it) habitat.  It is simply not warm enough to lay eggs and let them incubate on their own.  Female lizards must carry their young inside for three months so that they can develop without freezing.  There are viviparous lizards that do practice the lay and leave method (where a lizard finds a safe place, lays her eggs, and then takes off), but all of them live farther south, where it is warmer.

Other than their method of reproduction, viviparous lizards aren’t that different from most other lizards. They’re pretty small, with a body length of only 5 inches, although their tails can be double that.  They eat small insects and bask in the sun when they get cold.  In the winter, the northern populations hibernate, while the ones in the south stay active year round, presumably to celebrate the joys of not having to carry around squirming young for a quarter of the year.

Names can be deceiving.  The Mexican mole lizard does live in Mexico, and it does burrow underground like its namesake, but it isn’t a lizard.  Nor is it a worm, despite its appearance.  The Mexican mole lizard is a type of reptile called amphisbaenians. These are reptiles that have evolved to dig through the ground like worms, and all of them except for the genus Bipes have lost their legs.

The Mexican mole lizard burrows using the massive claws on its forelegs to shovel dirt out of the way. It is rarely seen above the surface, only coming out at night or after a heavy rain (just like worms).  Since it lives underground most of the time, this reptile has very small, beady eyes that only really detect changes in light. This doesn’t matter to the Mexican mole lizard, though, because it has a very strong sense of touch, which allows it to detect the slightest movement above or below ground.

Mexican mole lizards will eat just about anything.  Insect larvae, earthworms, ants, termites, and even small lizards have fallen prey to these voracious reptiles.  If they sense something above ground that they can eat, the Mexican mole lizard sneaks up on the unfortunate creature from below, then grabs it and drags it down to tear apart with their interlocking teeth.  Luckily for us humans, amphisbaenians are pretty small. A large Mexican mole lizard is only 9 inches long, about the size of a stretched out earthworm.

Chelodina longicollis is a turtle of many names.  Some call it the Australian snake-necked turtle, others call it the common long-necked turtle, and some combine the two, calling it the common snake-necked turtle.  The most common name, however, is the eastern long-necked turtle, and it is easy to see how it got the name.

The eastern long-necked turtle lives in south-eastern Australia, where it makes its home in slow moving rivers or ponds.  The long neck of the turtle allows it to catch prey, such as small fish, plankton, and any dead animals that fall into the water, as well as allowing it to breathe without completely surfacing.  This turtle’s neck does come with a drawback, however.  The neck is so long that the turtle can’t pull its head into its shell, like other turtles, so it has to fold it in sideways.

If the eastern long-necked turtle is disturbed, it has an unusual defense mechanism.  Like a skunk, the turtle will emit a foul smelling liquid from the musk glands located near its tail, which is why some people call the eastern long-necked turtle ‘the stinker’.  

What looks like a lizard, acts like a lizard, but isn’t a lizard?  The answer to that question is the northern tuatara, one of the oldest and most unusual reptiles on the planet.

The tuatara is one of the oldest reptiles on the planet in more ways than one.  Tuataras are ancient creatures; the only surviving members of the order Rhynchocephalia.  They have amphibian-like brains, fish-like spines, and the most primitive heart and lungs of any reptile.  They also have extremely long lifespans; it can take the tuatara 20 years to reach sexual maturity, five years to develop and lay an egg (the slowest reproduction of any reptile), and 35 years to get to their maximum length of two feet.  There is a captive tuatara that is over 100 years old and still able to reproduce, leading some scientists to think that these reptiles might have a lifespan of a whopping 200 years.

Tuataras live exclusively in New Zealand.  Until the introduction of invasive species such as rats and cats, the tuatara had no natural predators, but that doesn’t mean it can’t defend itself.  This reptile has armored spines all along its back and tail, and like a lizard, has the ability to break off said tail if it is grabbed.  Tuataras also have a nasty bite that they will direct at anything that gets too close, as well as the tendency to keep their mouth clamped shut on whatever it has sunk its teeth into.

Even though they evolved with no predators, the tuatara still prefers to come out at night.  With the exception of the young, who are active during the day to avoid the cannibalistic adults, tuataras are almost entirely nocturnal.  This is because these reptiles need cooler temperatures to survive.  Anything over 82° F can be fatal, so during the day, tuataras hide out in burrows that they have dug themselves or borrowed from nesting sea birds.  Once night falls, the tuatara goes on the hunt, searching for bugs, frogs, lizards, and eggs.  When dawn approaches, the tuatara detects the ultraviolet rays of the sun using its third eye, a sensory organ on the top of its head that can tell dark from light, and makes its way back to its shelter to rest until it is time to hunt again.

The flying dragon is not a real dragon.  It’s actually a small lizard found in the forests of Southeast Asia.  These lizards are a mottled brown, which helps them to blend in with their arboreal surroundings.  The only spot of color visible on them is the bright yellow dewlap, a flap of skin on the throat, which the flying dragons use to communicate.

This all changes once the flying dragons spread their wings.  Well, not actual wings.  All 42 species of lizards in the genus Draco have elongated ribs that they can stretch out and use to glide from tree to tree. Draco volans can glide almost 30 feet, which makes getting from one tree to the other a whole lot easier.

The females of this species are usually a little larger than the males, but they make up for that with the brilliant blue undersides of their wings, which they use to court the females. Once they have mated, the female flying dragon will glide to the ground, where she shoves her head into the ground to make a hole and lays a couple of eggs.

Long ago, in a place known as the Fertile Crescent, ancient man worshipped a fearsome deity called Moloch, who demanded constant human sacrifice, the younger the better. Today, that name belongs to a creature found in the deserts of Australia.  Moloch horridus, or the thorny devil, as it is commonly known, is a small lizard that is literally covered in spikes from head to toe.

Each and every one of those spikes are put to use daily.  While the thorny devil can change the color of its skin, and has developed an unusual gait that lets it freeze the second it spots a potential threat, the fact remains that this lizard (which can only reach a length of 8 inches) is a tasty treat in the eyes of many animals of the Outback.   Without its spiny armor to protect it, the thorny devil would quickly be eaten.

Luckily for the thorny devil, it has a couple of back up plans if a predator is still interested in it despite the spikes.  By quickly swallowing air, the thorny devil can inflate itself to become larger, and if that doesn’t work, it deploys its second head.  It isn’t really another head, just a lump of flesh that sticks out of its back.  If it needs to, thorny devils can tuck their real heads in between their legs, leaving the false head to bear the brunt of the attacks.

After all that evasive action, this lizard has probably worked up an appetite.  So what does it eat?  Thorny devils eat only one thing; ants.  These lizards spend their day sitting by an ant trail snapping up every single ant that walks by.  Thousands of ants are devoured each day by a single lizard.  And, because of their all-ant diet, thorny devils have all-ant poops. The droppings of the thorny devils are very distinctive; shiny black pellets made of the exoskeletons of the insects.  

Most lizards, after spending a long day of escaping from hungry predators, gorging themselves on ants, and successfully voiding themselves, would like nothing more than a long drink of water.  For thorny devils, water can be hard to come by, what with them living in a desert and all that.  Once again, it is spikes to the rescue, but not in the way you would expect.  Instead of actively going out to search for water, the thorny devil just sits there.  During the cool desert nights, dew forms.  By the time the sun comes up, most of it has evaporated, but the jagged body of the thorny devil actually prevents that from happening and funnels the water into its mouth.  Pulling water from thin air is an impressive feat, which leaves me thinking that this lizard deserves to have been named after a better god (preferably one that isn’t known for devouring children).

This toothy grin belongs to none other than the gharial, a large crocodilian that lives in the rivers of India. The average length of these reptiles is 11-15 feet, but individuals longer than 20 feet have been recorded. Although they are big and have a mouthful of razor sharp fangs, there has never been a report of a gharial attacking or killing humans.  And while jewelry is occasionally found in their stomachs, it is thought that gharials swallow these to use as gastroliths (stones that are ingested to aid in digestion) or to help control their buoyancy.

In fact, the only things adult gharials will eat are fish and (very rarely) crustaceans.  They accomplish this by laying completely still under water and wait for a fish to swim by.  When one does, the gharial will swing its head around and grab it with jaws that are perfectly adapted for the job; a thinner snout reduces water resistance, and the sharp teeth keep anything from escaping this crocodilian’s clutches. Young gharials are less picky.  They eat small fish, but will also chow down on insects, tadpoles, and frogs.

When a male gharial fully matures around age 13 (gharials can live to 60 years old in the wild), it develops a large protuberance on the end of its nose, called a boss.  This growth is similar in appearance to a clay pot called a ghara, which is where the gharial gets its name.  The exact purpose of the nasal boss is unknown, but it does make Gavialis gangeticus the only crocodilian to exhibit visual sexual dimorphism.

The Arafura filesnake gets its name from its tiny but numerous scales that give its skin the texture of a file.  This nocturnal snake spends most of its time in the water, and while it may seem counterintuitive, rough skin is an important trait to have if your diet consists entirely of slippery fish and you haven’t got any hands to catch them with.

Because the Arafura filesnake rarely comes onto land, it is a very slow slitherer.  The Aboriginal people of northern Australia (the snake lives here and in New Guinea) take advantage of this when they hunt the filesnake for its meat and extremely baggy skin.  All they have to do is feel around for this large (sometimes over 8 feet long) snake underwater, and then toss it onto the land, where it will be collected at the hunters leisure.  

Along with being a slow mover, this filesnake also has a really slow metabolism.  As a result of this, it eats less often than most other snakes, usually around once a month.  Arafura filesnakes have no problem finding food, though, since scientists think that their sharp scales contain sensory organs that can detect movement and help the snake catch fish.

What if I told you that there is an animal that can be found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, is carnivorous, has 15 sets of legs, and is probably IN YOUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW AND IT LOOKS LIKE THIS!!

Although it may look like some sort of alien monster, it’s actually the humble house centipede. They’re relatively harmless (most of these arthropods couldn’t hurt you if they tried due to their tiny teeth) and eat the bugs you should really be worrying about (aka cockroaches, termites, silverfish, and bedbugs).  House centipedes don’t carry disease, don’t destroy your property, and try to stay out of people’s way.  

The body of a house centipede is only about an inch long, but thanks to those ridiculously long legs and antennae, it can look much bigger.  It also spends a significant amount of time keeping those legs clean. Like a cat, it will groom itself, meticulously making sure that everything is in proper order.  So next time you see one of these centipedes crawling out of your drain, try not to scream or panic, and remember that this is one bug that you don’t want to squish.