Reptiles

Find out everything there is to know about reptiles and stay updated on the latest reptile news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and reptile pictures at LiveScience.com. Learn more about these fascinating creatures as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about reptiles.

Latest about Reptiles

Two images of the semi-aquatic lizard, Anolis aquaticus; Side view of lizard with round bubble on top of its head (left), front profile of lizard with bubble on top of its head between its eyes.

'Scuba-diving' lizards breathe underwater by wearing air bubbles on their noses — just like in a cartoon

By Elise Poore published

Scuba-diving lizards use bubbles to stay submerged in water for long periods of time.

Lizards
Three snakes lying on a table

4-foot snake vomits up 2 smaller snakes — and 1 was still alive

By Harry Baker published

Wildlife officials in Georgia stumbled across a pair of snakes that had been "expelled" by a larger serpent, only to discover that one of the regurgitated victims was still alive.

Snakes
Close-up photograph of the thorny devil lizard.

Thorny devil: The spike-covered lizard that sucks water from sand through its skin

By Lydia Smith published

Thorny devils have a plethora of defenses against predators, including a fake head and a weird jerky walk.

Lizards
A Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) using its mouth to swallow the body of a Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) in Bandarban District, Bangladesh.

Giant snake eaten alive by another giant snake in 1st-of-its-kind encounter

By James Bonthron published

When two top predatory animals come into contact, anything can happen. One eating the other whole, though, is certainly unexpected.

Snakes
A crocodile with big teeth raises its head out of murky water and looks straight at the camera

Crocodile 'fingerprints' may reveal Australia's deadly, hidden predators

By Hannah Osborne published

Crocodile attacks in Australia have risen since conservation measures helped their numbers skyrocket. Now, scientists are harnessing their environmental DNA to find these predators before they strike.

Alligators & Crocodiles
Close-up of a Javanese spitting cobra ready to strike, Indonesia - stock photo

Cobras and their relatives evolved in Asia

By Richard Pallardy published

Ancient origins of cobras traced back to Asia, before jumping continents to spread across the world up to 37.5 million years ago.

Snakes
a saltwater crocodile close up with its jaws open and some blood on its teeth.

'If you can bench press a car, you are good to go': Inside the incredible bite-force of crocodiles

By Bill Schutt published

In this extract from "Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans," Bill Schutt looks at the creatures with the strongest bite forces in the world.

Alligators & Crocodiles
A keeper holds a coastal taipan's open jaws against a shot glass so that the snake ejects venom inside it.

Deadly snake delivers enough venom to kill 400 humans in record-breaking 'milking'

By Sascha Pare published

A coastal taipan named Cyclone recently delivered three times the average amount of venom for its species in one go, setting a new record.

Snakes
A cottonmouth coiled up by the water raises its head

Cottonmouth snakes: Facts about water moccasins

By Patrick Pester, Jessie Szalay last updated

Cottonmouth snakes, also known as water moccasins, are venomous snakes found throughout the southeastern U.S. that can be identified by the white color in their mouths.

Snakes
on the left, a baby snake in a person's palm, on the right, a box with straw with lots of baby snakes in it

'Ronaldo had been looking slightly fatter than usual': Snake thought to be male has 14 babies in rare 'virgin birth'

By Hannah Osborne published

A captive Brazilian rainbow boa initially declared male by a vet gives birth to 14 snakelets in a rare case of parthenogenesis at a U.K. college.

Snakes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Archives