Kids Encyclopedia

Leatherback Turtle — The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all living turtles. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys. As a sea turtle, the leatherback is the largest and heaviest. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a shell. Instead, the carapace of the leatherback turtle is …

Loggerhead Turtle — The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is a sea turtle and the only member of the genus Caretta. The genus name “Caretta” is a latinization of the French “caret”, meaning turtle, tortoise, or sea turtle. The species feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, fish, jellyfish, and other small to medium-size marine animals, which they crush with their large and powerful jaws. …

Worm Lizard — The Amphisbaenia (Worm Lizard) are a suborder of peculiar, usually legless squamates closely related to lizards and snakes, in spite of their resemblance to earthworms (many possessing a pink body color and scales arranged in rings). They are very poorly understood, due to their burrowing lifestyle and general rarity. Only one species exists in the United States, …

Water Moccasin — Agkistrodon piscivorus(water moccasin) is a venomous pit viper species found in the eastern United States. It is a close relative of the copperhead, A. contortrix. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. This is the largest species of the genus Agkistrodon. Adults commonly exceed 80 cm (roughly 2 ft. 8 in.) in length, …

Viper — The viper snake is very colorful and robust. The viper snake in the rain forest lives in wet places and also in mountains in small caves. Their bright colors in their skin help them survive. The viper snake is a very short snake compared to most of the other type of snakes. She is 50 to 65cm long. …

Tuatara — The tuatara is an amniote of the family Sphenodontidae, endemic to New Zealand. The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of the Sphenodontians who flourished around 200 million years ago, and are in the genus Sphenodon. Tuatara resemble lizards, but are equally related to lizards and snakes, both of which are classified as Squamata, the …

Horned Toad — Horned lizards (Phrynosoma) are a genus of the Phrynosomatidae family of lizards. The horned lizard is popularly called a “horned toad,” “horny toad”, or “horned frog,” but it is neither a toad nor a frog. The popular names come from the lizard’s rounded body and blunt snout, which give it a decidedly toad-like or frog-like appearance. (Phrynosoma …

Gecko — Geckos are small to average sized lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae which are found in warm climates throughout the world. Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalizations, making chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. There are 1,196 different species of geckos. The name stems from the Malay word gekoq, imitative of its cry. Geckos …

Teju — Tupinambis is a lizard genus which belongs to the family of Teiidae. These large, South American lizards are commonly referred to as tegus; Tupinambis merianae (Argentine Black and White Tegu), Tupinambis rufescens (Red Tegu), and Tupinambis teguixin (Colombian Black and White Tegu, Gold Tegu, or Common Tegu) are all common in the pet trade. Tegus are an escaped …

Tortoise — Tortoises or land turtles are land-dwelling reptiles of the family of Testudinidae, order Testudines. Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise has both an endoskeleton and …