Northern Map Turtle

Reptiles > Turtles and Tortoises

The Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica), celebrated across eastern North America as the Common Map Turtle, is the beautifully contoured, river-loving sovereign of the continent’s great waterways. Named for the intricate, delicate network of fine yellow...

Yellow-bellied Slider

Reptiles > Turtles and Tortoises

The Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) is the sun-worshipping, yellow-splashed sovereign of the American Southeast’s cypress swamps and coastal wetlands. Belonging to the pond turtle family Emydidae, this handsome freshwater turtle is famous for...

Brown Basilisk

Reptiles > Lizards

The Brown Basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus), universally celebrated throughout the Americas as the ‘Jesus Christ Lizard’ or Striped Basilisk, is one of the most athletic and visually astonishing reptiles on Earth. Famous for its seemingly miraculous ability...

Smooth Softshell Turtle

Reptiles > Turtles and Tortoises

The Smooth Softshell Turtle (Apalone mutica) is the sleek, pancake-flat speedster of North America’s great river systems. Inhabiting the fast-flowing waters of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri river basins, this river specialist looks more like a...

Forest Cobra

Reptiles > Snakes

The Forest Cobra (Naja melanoleuca), celebrated across Africa as the Black Cobra or White-lipped Cobra, is the colossal, glossy monarch of the genus Naja and the largest true cobra species on Earth. Capable of exceeding ten feet in total length, this muscular,...