Reptiles: Related Content

  • a leatherback turtle hatchling crawls through the sand

    Habitat for Leatherback Turtles

    Endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtles now have nearly 42,000 square miles of Pacific Ocean to call their own. Thanks to a decision in January 2012 by the National Marine Fisheries Service, these magnificent reptiles will now be safeguarded off the U.S. West Coast.

  • A rendering of an ocean scene as it may have looked 65 million years ago, when an astroid fell to Earth and triggered a mass extinction event.

    Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary (65 Million Years Ago)

    This rendering shows life at the end of the Cretaceous Period, before the impact of a 6.2 mi (10 km) asteroid triggered mass extinctions on land and sea. Dinosaurs are the most famous victims of the extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, 65 million years ago. But they weren't alone. Nearly half of Earth's species disappeared -- including almost 75 percent of ocean species. Evidence indicates an asteroid was to blame.

  • <p>The Aldabra Atoll site in the Seychelles was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982. The site is comprised of a coral reef surrounding four large coral islands, which enclose a shallow lagoon. Protected from human influence, Aldabra’s beaches are safe nesting habitat for hawksbill turtles (<em>Eretmochelys imbricata</em> – pictured here), one of the Indian Ocean’s largest congregations of nesting green turtles (<em>Chelonia mydas</em>), and the world’s second largest breeding populations of greater and lesser frigate birds (<em>Fregata minor</em> &amp; <em>Fregata ariel</em>). The site also provides a refuge to 100,000 Aldabran giant tortoises (<em>Dipsochelys dussumieri</em>), one of the few surviving giant tortoise species of the Indian Ocean region.</p>

    Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles

    The Aldabra Atoll site in the Seychelles was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982. The site is comprised of a coral reef surrounding four large coral islands, which enclose a shallow lagoon.

  • <p>The Sundarbans National Park site in India was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987. The site, located in the Ganges delta, contains the world's largest mangrove forest and hosts a number of rare and endangered species including tigers, aquatic mammals, birds, and reptiles. Mammals that frequent the tidal waters include Ganges dolphins (<em>Platanista gangetica</em>), Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins (<em>Sousa chinensis</em>), irrawaddy dolphins (<em>Orcaella brevirostris</em>), and finless porpoises (<em>Neophocaena phocaenoides</em>). Reptiles that use the park include olive ridley sea turtles (<em>Lepidochelys olivacea</em>), which nest in the park, green sea turtles (<em>Chelonia mydas</em>), and estuarine crocodiles (<em>Crocodylus porosus</em>), pictured here.</p>

    Sundarbans National Park, India

    The Sundarbans National Park site in India was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987. The site, located in the Ganges delta, contains the world's largest mangrove forest and hosts a number of rare and endangered species including tigers, aquatic mammals, birds, and reptiles. Mammals that frequent the tidal waters include Ganges dolphins (Platanista gangetica), Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins (Sousa chinensis), irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris), and finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides).

  • <p>A leatherback sea turtle crawls across the sand at the<span style="line-height: 20px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 20px;">Area de Conservación Guanacaste site in Costa Rica.</span></p>

    Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica

    The Area de Conservación Guanacaste site in Costa Rica was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. The site has the most intact inshore Pacific marine ecosystem between the Panama Canal Zone and Mexico, with major nutrient-rich upwelling currents, resulting in high biological productivity.

  • Marine Iguanas: One Species at a Time

    No iguana wants to be cooked alive on a hot rock and then served up as dinner for a Galapagos hawk. But it turns out the marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) have a strategy that warns them of the presence of hawks they can’t see. They learned to tune in to a kind of police scanner…the alarm calls of mockingbirds.

  • Giant tortoise habitat on Galapagos Islands.

    Cerro Azul, Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands

    A giant tortoise subspecies (Geochelone nigra vicina) lives on Isabela Island in the Galapagos. Cerro Azul, estimated to be about 350,000 years old, is one of six volcanoes on the island.

  • Close-up front-view photograph of a giant tortoise eating a plant.

    Galapagos Tortoise

    On the Galapagos Islands, William Dampier wrote excitedly of the giant tortoises he encountered: “I do believe there is no place in the world that is so plentifully stored with these animals….” This photo was taken at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos.

  • Photograph of a light brown gecko with medium brown markings, standing on a dead and weathered tree trunk.

    Island Leaf-Toed Gecko

    The Island Leaf-Toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus insularis) is one of several species of geckos that live in the mangroves of the Caribbean’s Mangal Cay. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.

  • Picture of an American Crocodile resting underwater.

    American Crocodile

    An American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, resting on a bed of seagrass. These medium-sized crocodiles live in freshwater and saltwater habitats of Central America, the northern coasts of South America, the Caribbean Islands, and the southern tip of Florida. They're most commonly found in mangrove-lined estuaries and saltwater lagoons. American crocodiles are listed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN.  

  • A spectacled caiman patrols a salty pond at a Smithsonian research station in Panama.

    Spectacled Caiman

    A spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodiles) patrols a salty pond at the Smithsonian Institution’s research station in Bocas del Toro, Panama. A bony ridge between its eyes gives it the appearance of wearing glasses—and its common name.

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