European Cat Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The European Cat Snake (Telescopus fallax), known across the eastern Mediterranean as the False Smooth Snake or Mediterranean Cat Snake, is a fascinating, slender, and secretive nocturnal colubrid serpent native to the sun-baked rocky slopes, ancient stone ruins, and...

Meadow Viper

Reptiles > Snakes

The Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii), known across European herpetology as Orsini’s Viper, the Meadow Adder, or the Hungarian Steppe Viper, is the smallest, most endangered, and biologically unique venomous snake on the European continent. Native to isolated,...

Western Whip Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Western Whip Snake (Hierophis viridiflavus), universally known in Italy as the Biacco and in France as the Couleuvre verte et jaune (Green-and-Yellow Snake), is a legendary, large, and lightning-fast non-venomous colubrid snake native to the sun-drenched...

Dice Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Dice Snake (Natrix tessellata), widely known across European herpetology as the Tessellated Water Snake, is an exceptionally aquatic, harmless, and agile natricine colubrid native to the clean rivers, rocky lakes, and coastal bays of central and southern Europe,...

Four-lined Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Four-lined Snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata), known across southern Europe and the Balkans as the Italian Rat Snake or Cervone, is the longest and most impressive non-venomous colubrid snake on the European continent. Native to the sun-drenched Mediterranean maquis,...

Broad-headed Skink

Reptiles > Lizards

The Broad-headed Skink (Plestiodon laticeps) is the largest, most arboreal, and visually spectacular native skink in the eastern United States. Native to the mature oak-hickory forests, cypress swamps, and humid bottomlands of the American Southeast, this impressive...

Mud Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Mud Snake (Farancia abacura) is a massive, strikingly beautiful, and exceptionally secretive semi-aquatic serpent native to the cypress swamps, sluggish bayous, and blackwater rivers of the southeastern United States. Belonging to the family Dipsadidae, this...

Grass Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Grass Snake (Natrix natrix), also known as the Ringed Snake or Water Dragon in European folklore, is a widespread, harmless, ecologically vital semi-aquatic natricine colubrid native to the wetlands, riverbanks, and damp meadows of Europe and western Asia. As the...

Giant Musk Turtle

Reptiles > Turtles & Tortoises

The Giant Musk Turtle (Staurotypus triporcatus), known throughout Mexico and Central America as the Mexican Giant Musk Turtle, Three-keeled Musk Turtle, or Tres Quillas, is a massive, prehistoric-looking, and fiercely carnivorous freshwater chelonian native to the...

Giant Dragon Lizard

Reptiles > Lizards

The Giant Dragon Lizard (Smaug giganteus), universally celebrated across herpetology as the Sungazer, Giant Girdled Lizard, or Lord Derby’s Girdled Lizard, is an extraordinarily heavily armored, charismatic, and prehistoric-looking reptile endemic strictly to...