REPTILES
- Crocodiles have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom.
- Some species of turtles can live for more than 100 years.
- Chameleons can change their color not only for camouflage but also to regulate their temperature and express their mood.
- The Komodo dragon, the largest living lizard, can consume up to 80% of its body weight in a single meal.
- Snakes smell with their tongues by collecting airborne particles and transferring them to the Jacobson’s organ in the mouth for examination.
- The anaconda is one of the world’s largest and most powerful snakes, capable of growing up to 30 feet long.
- Iguanas have a third eye on top of their head, known as the parietal eye, which detects changes in light.
- The Galápagos tortoise is one of the longest-lived vertebrates, with some individuals exceeding 150 years.
- Many lizard species can detach their tails to escape predators, a process known as autotomy.
- The skin of a gecko is so waterproof that it stays dry even when submerged in water.
- Pythons are constrictors, meaning they kill their prey by wrapping around it and squeezing until it suffocates.
- Alligators have a powerful bite but the muscles to open their jaws are relatively weak.
- The Gharial, a fish-eating crocodile, has a long, slender snout filled with many interlocking, razor-sharp teeth.
- Sea turtles have special glands which help remove salt from their drinking water.
- The King Cobra, the world’s longest venomous snake, can “stand up” and look a full-grown person in the eye.
- Some species of snakes, like the Rattlesnake, have heat-sensing pits to locate warm-blooded prey.
- The tuatara, a reptile from New Zealand, has a third “parietal” eye on its forehead.
- The Horned Lizard can shoot blood from its eyes as a defense mechanism.
- Crocodilians are the only reptiles with a four-chambered heart, similar to birds and mammals.
- The Leatherback Sea Turtle, the largest of all turtles, can dive to depths of over 1,200 meters.