Galapagos Land Iguana

Reptiles > Lizards

The Galapagos Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) is a massive, prehistoric-looking terrestrial saurian endemic to the volcanic wilderness of the Galapagos Archipelago. Descended from ancestral South American iguanas that rafted across the Pacific Ocean millions of...

Hermann’s Tortoise

Reptiles > Turtles & Tortoises

Hermann’s Tortoise (Testudo hermanni) is a charming, enduring symbol of the sun-drenched Mediterranean basin and one of the most culturally celebrated terrestrial chelonians on Earth. Named in honor of the French naturalist Johann Hermann, this...

Madagascar Giant Day Gecko

Reptiles > Lizards

The Madagascar Giant Day Gecko (Phelsuma grandis) is a visually dazzling, diurnal arboreal lizard endemic to the tropical rainforests of northern Madagascar. Unlike the vast majority of geckos, which are cryptically colored nocturnal hunters, the giant day gecko is a...

Eastern Hognose Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) is one of the most eccentric, harmless, and behaviorally fascinating reptiles native to North America. Belonging to the family Colubridae, this heavy-bodied, upturned-snouted snake has earned widespread cultural and...

Russian Tortoise

Reptiles > Turtles & Tortoises

The Russian Tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii), also widely known as Horsfield’s tortoise or the Central Asian tortoise, is a tough, burrowing chelonian uniquely adapted to the harsh continental extremes of the Central Asian steppes. Thriving across vast, sun-baked...

Milk Snake

Reptiles > Snakes

The Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) is one of the most widely recognized, ecologically beneficial, and evolutionary celebrated non-venomous colubrid snakes in the Americas. Renowned in evolutionary biology as a classic textbook exemplar of Batesian mimicry, the...

Diamondback Terrapin

Reptiles > Turtles & Tortoises

The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is an exquisite, medium-sized estuarine turtle that holds a completely unique ecological distinction: it is the only turtle species in North America that lives exclusively in the brackish waters of coastal salt marshes,...

Common Chuckwalla

Reptiles > Lizards

The Common Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) is an imposing, heavy-bodied desert iguanid that reigns as one of the largest native lizards in the United States, second in size only to the venomous Gila monster. Inhabiting the sun-blistered basalt hills, granite boulder...

Saharan Horned Viper

Reptiles > Venomous Snakes

The Saharan Horned Viper (Cerastes cerastes) is an iconic, heavily armored desert serpent that stands as the quintessential venomous reptile of the Sahara Desert. Renowned throughout world history and immortalized in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics as the phonetic...

Chinese Alligator

Reptiles > Crocodilians

The Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis), affectionately known throughout Chinese culture as the ‘Muddy Dragon’ (Tu Long) and believed to be the historical inspiration for the mythical Chinese dragon, is one of the rarest, most endangered crocodilians on...