Types of Reptiles
There are three major orders of reptiles: crocodilia, testudines and squamata. There also is an order that only includes two species of tuatara, a creature that closely resembles a lizard.
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Features
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All reptiles have some common features. They all have backbones, have skin with scales that prevent them from becoming dry, bear young that look like smaller versions of adults, and have body temperatures regulated by the environment.
Crocodilia
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Crocodilia includes 23 types of reptiles like alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharials. There are 14 kinds of crocodiles, six types of caiman, two alligators and a single species of gharial.
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Squamata
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The snakes and lizards that make up the squamata order number almost 8,000 different species. Snakes are legless, lack eyelids, have no ears and their scales protect their bodies. The typical lizard possesses a smallish head on a shortened neck and a long body and tail.
Testudines
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The testudines are reptiles with a protective shell: turtles and tortoises. Some testudines live in an aquatic environment, others stay exclusively on land, and many others are at home in both.
Tuatara
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The tuatara lives only on the island of New Zealand and is a link to a now extinct group of reptiles that date back to the era of the dinosaurs.
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