178 reptiles

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Leopard tortoiseTortoise, eastern and southern Africa. In harsh weather it shelters in old fox, jackal or aardvark burrows.
Morelet's crocodileCrocodilian, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. Named after the French naturalist who found it in Mexico in 1850.
Spider-tailed horned viperVenomous snake, western Iran and nearby Iraq. Its tail tip looks like a spider, and it lures birds with it.
Burmese pythonNon-venomous snake, Southeast Asia. Now invasive in the Florida Everglades, after a boom in the pet trade.
Rainbow boaNon-venomous snake, South America. Its scales shine with rainbow colours in the light.

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All 178 reptiles

Snakes 70

Aesculapian snake Non-venomous snake, southern and central Europe. Named after Aesculapius, the ancient god of healing.
Ball python Non-venomous snake, West and Central Africa. Named for the way it curls into a ball when scared.
Barbados threadsnake Snake, island of Barbados. Thought to be among the world's smallest snakes.
Black mamba Venomous snake, sub-Saharan Africa. Named for the black inside of its mouth, not its grey-brown skin.
Boa constrictor Non-venomous snake, South America. Its everyday name is the same as its scientific name.
Boomslang Venomous snake, sub-Saharan Africa. Its name is Dutch and Afrikaans for tree snake.
Brahminy blind snake Non-venomous snake, warm places worldwide. Every one is female, and they breed without males.
Brown tree snake Mildly venomous snake, northern Australia and New Guinea. Invaded Guam and wiped out most forest birds there.
Burmese python Non-venomous snake, Southeast Asia. Now invasive in the Florida Everglades, after a boom in the pet trade.
California kingsnake Non-venomous snake, western USA and northwestern Mexico. Hunts and eats other snakes, rattlesnakes included.
Carpet python Non-venomous snake, Australia and New Guinea. Ranges from olive to black, with cream or gold markings.
Central African rock python Non-venomous snake, sub-Saharan Africa. The largest snake in Africa.

Show all 178 reptiles (166 more)

Snakes, continued

Children's python Non-venomous snake, northern Australia. Named after the scientist John George Children, not after kids.
Coastal taipan Venomous snake, northern Australia and New Guinea. Australia's second-longest venomous snake.
Common death adder Venomous snake, eastern and southern Australia. Wiggles its thin tail tip like a worm to lure prey close.
Common egg eater Non-venomous snake, sub-Saharan Africa. Eats nothing but eggs, and climbs trees to raid bird nests.
Common European adder Venomous snake, Europe and northern Asia. The only venomous snake native to Great Britain.
Common garter snake Mildly venomous snake, North America. In spring, ten or more males crowd around one female in a mating ball.
Common krait Venomous snake, Indian subcontinent. Hunts at night, mainly for other snakes.
Corn snake Non-venomous snake, southeastern USA. Its belly has a checked pattern like kernels of maize.
Cottonmouth Venomous snake, southeastern USA. Gapes to show the white lining of its mouth as a warning.
Desert horned viper Venomous snake, deserts of North Africa and Arabia. Most have a horn over each eye, though some have none.
Eastern brown snake Venomous snake, eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. Often lives on farms, hunting house mice.
Eastern copperhead Venomous snake, eastern USA. Young ones wave a bright tail tip to lure frogs and lizards.
Eastern coral snake Venomous snake, southeastern USA. Narrow yellow rings split the wide red and black ones, so red meets yellow.
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake Venomous snake, southeastern USA. The largest rattlesnake.
Eastern green mamba Venomous snake, coast of East and southern Africa. Spends nearly all its life up in trees.
Eastern hognose snake Mildly venomous snake, eastern North America. Rolls over and plays dead when its threat display fails.
Eastern indigo snake Non-venomous snake, southeastern USA. The longest snake native to the United States.
Egyptian cobra Venomous snake, North and East Africa. Averages about 1.4 m long. The longest on record measured 2.59 m.
Emerald tree boa Non-venomous snake, rainforests of northern South America. Young are orange or brick-red, then turn green.
Eyelash viper Venomous snake, Colombia. Pointed scales over its eyes look like eyelashes.
Gaboon viper Venomous snake, rainforests of central Africa. Has the longest fangs of any snake, up to about 5 cm.
Golden lancehead Venomous snake, one island off Brazil. Lives only on Ilha da Queimada Grande, known as Snake Island.
Gopher snake Non-venomous snake, western North America. Shakes its tail like a rattlesnake, though it has no rattle.
Grass snake Non-venomous snake, Europe and western Asia. Eats mostly amphibians, above all common toads and common frogs.
Green anaconda Non-venomous snake, South America to the east of the Andes. One of the heaviest and longest snakes in the world.
Green tree python Non-venomous snake, New Guinea and northern Australia. Hatches yellow or orange-red, then turns green.
Indian cobra Venomous snake, Indian subcontinent. The back of its hood carries a mark shaped like spectacles.
Inland taipan Venomous snake, central eastern Australia. Its venom is the most toxic of any snake tested.
Kenyan sand boa Non-venomous snake, northern and eastern Africa. A burrower that spends about 80% of its time underground.
King cobra Venomous snake, South and Southeast Asia. The longest venomous snake, and it eats mostly other snakes.
Malagasy leaf-nosed snake Snake, Madagascar. Males have a long pointed snout and females a flat, leaf-shaped one.
Mangrove snake Mildly venomous snake, Southeast Asia. Black with narrow yellow bands, and one of the biggest cat snakes.
Milk snake Non-venomous snake, eastern North America. Named for a false old tale that it sucks milk from cows.
Monocled cobra Venomous snake, South and Southeast Asia. Its hood carries one O-shaped ring, like a monocle.
Mozambique spitting cobra Venomous snake, southern and eastern Africa. Can spit its venom 2 to 3 m, with great accuracy.
Paradise flying snake Mildly venomous snake, Southeast Asia. Flattens its body and glides from tree to tree.
Puff adder Venomous snake, most of Africa and southwestern Arabia. Hisses loudly and coils up tight when disturbed.
Rainbow boa Non-venomous snake, South America. Its scales shine with rainbow colours in the light.
Reticulated python Non-venomous snake, South and Southeast Asia. No snake in the world is longer.
Rhinoceros viper Venomous snake, West and Central Africa. Has two or three scales like horns at the tip of its nose.
Ring-necked snake Snake, North America. Curls its tail to flash a bright red-orange underside.
Rough green snake Non-venomous snake, southeastern USA. Eats mostly insects and spiders.
Rubber boa Non-venomous snake, western North America. Hides its head in its coils and waves its blunt tail as a decoy.
Russell's viper Venomous snake, Indian subcontinent. Named after Patrick Russell, who described it in 1796.
Saw-scaled viper Venomous snake, Middle East, Central Asia and India. Rests in a double coil like a figure of eight.
Scarlet kingsnake Non-venomous snake, southeastern USA. Harmless, but ringed in red, black and yellow like a coral snake.
Sidewinder Venomous snake, deserts of the southwestern USA and Mexico. Moves sideways, leaving J-shaped tracks in sand.
South American bushmaster Venomous snake, rainforests of South America. The longest viper in the world.
Spider-tailed horned viper Venomous snake, western Iran and nearby Iraq. Its tail tip looks like a spider, and it lures birds with it.
Sunbeam snake Non-venomous snake, Southeast Asia. Known for its highly iridescent scales, which shine with rainbow colours.
Tentacled snake Mildly venomous snake, Southeast Asia. The only snake with a pair of tentacles on its snout.
Terciopelo Venomous snake, Mexico to northern South America. Its Spanish name means velvet.
Tiger snake Venomous snake, southern Australia and Tasmania. Many have yellow and dark tiger bands, but some are plain.
Timber rattlesnake Venomous snake, eastern USA. The rattlesnake shown on the Gadsden flag.
Western diamondback rattlesnake Venomous snake, southwestern USA and Mexico. Its tail has black and white bands just above the rattle.
Western hognose snake Snake, plains of central North America. An upturned nose scale makes it a skilled burrower.
Yellow-bellied sea snake Venomous snake, open Indian and Pacific oceans. One of the most widely spread snakes on Earth.
Yellow-lipped sea krait Venomous snake, eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans. Hunts eels at sea but lays its eggs on land.

Lizards and tuatara 53

Argentine black and white tegu Lizard, eastern and central South America. The only reptile known to partly warm its own body when breeding.
Armadillo girdled lizard Lizard, west coast of South Africa. Bites its own tail and rolls into a spiky ring.
Asian water monitor Lizard, South and Southeast Asia. Widely thought to be the second-largest lizard, after the Komodo dragon.
Central bearded dragon Lizard, dry inland of eastern Australia. Named for the throat pouch it can puff out and turn dark.
Chinese water dragon Lizard, southern China and Southeast Asia. When scared it dives in and can stay under for up to 90 minutes.
Common chuckwalla Lizard, deserts of the southwestern USA and Mexico. Puffs itself up in a rock crack to wedge tight.
Common collared lizard Lizard, south-central USA and Mexico. Sprints on its back legs alone, at up to 24 km/h.
Common five-lined skink Lizard, eastern North America. Young ones have a bright blue tail.
Common flying dragon Lizard, Southeast Asia. Glides on flaps of skin stretched over long ribs.
Common house gecko Lizard, South and Southeast Asia, now spread worldwide. Hunts insects around house lights at night.
Common wall lizard Lizard, southern and central Europe. Likes rocky places, towns included, darting between walls and rubble.
Crested gecko Lizard, New Caledonia. Believed extinct until someone found it again in 1994.
Eastern blue-tongued lizard Lizard, eastern and northern Australia. Sticks out a bright blue tongue to startle attackers.
Frilled lizard Lizard, southern New Guinea and northern Australia. Opens a wide neck frill to scare off predators.
Galápagos land iguana Lizard, Galápagos Islands. Gets most of its water from prickly pear cactus.
Gila monster Venomous lizard, southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico. A diabetes drug copies a protein in its saliva.
Gold dust day gecko Lizard, northern Madagascar and the Comoros. Active by day, and feeds on nectar as well as insects.
Green anole Lizard, southeastern USA. Shifts between green and brown, and males flash a pink throat fan.
Green iguana Lizard, Central and South America. A plant-eater that drops from branches into water to escape.
Jackson's chameleon Lizard, Kenya and Tanzania. Males carry three horns on the head.
Komodo dragon Lizard, a few islands in Indonesia. The largest living lizard. Males can reach 3 m long.
Kuhl's flying gecko Lizard, Southeast Asia. Skin flaps, webbed feet and a flat tail let it glide short distances.
Lau banded iguana Lizard, Fiji's Lau Islands, and Tonga. Males are emerald green with two or three pale blue or white bands.
Leopard gecko Lizard, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Iran. Has eyelids and can blink, unlike most geckos.
Marine iguana Lizard, Galápagos Islands. The only lizard that feeds in the sea, where it grazes on algae.
Mexican beaded lizard Venomous lizard, Mexico. Its small bead-like scales sit on top of tiny plates of bone.
Mexican mole lizard Lizard, Baja California, Mexico. A pink burrower with two short front legs and no back legs.
Mourning gecko Lizard, shores of the Indian and the Pacific oceans. Nearly all are female, and they breed without mating.
Nano-chameleon Lizard, northern Madagascar. Described in 2021 and may be the smallest reptile known.
New Caledonian giant gecko Lizard, New Caledonia. The largest living gecko.
Nile monitor Lizard, Africa south of the Sahara and the Nile valley. Raids crocodile nests to eat the eggs.
Northern caiman lizard Lizard, Amazon basin and the Guianas. Crushes water snails with its back teeth and spits out the shell.
Panther chameleon Lizard, Madagascar. A male's colours depend on which part of the island he is from.
Parson's chameleon Lizard, Madagascar. Usually counted as the heaviest chameleon in the world.
Perentie Lizard, deserts of Australia. The largest lizard in Australia.
Philippine sailfin lizard Lizard, Philippines. A strong swimmer, and young ones can run briefly across the water.
Plumed basilisk Lizard, Central America. Can run across the surface of water to flee a predator.
Red-headed rock agama Lizard, Nigeria east to Sudan. A dominant male is blue in the body with a yellow tail. Other males stay dull.
Rhinoceros iguana Lizard, Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Named for the horn-like bumps on its snout.
Sandfish skink Lizard, deserts of North Africa and Arabia. Swims through loose sand as if it were water.
Satanic leaf-tailed gecko Lizard, Madagascar. Its tail looks like a rotting leaf, and some even have notches in it.
Savannah monitor Lizard, grasslands of West and Central Africa. Eats mainly snails, millipedes, beetles and other bugs.
Sheltopusik Lizard, southeastern Europe to Central Asia. A legless lizard that can reach 135 cm long.
Shingleback Lizard, southern and western Australia. Pairs have been known to reunite every spring for up to 20 years.
Slow worm Lizard, Europe. A legless lizard, not a snake: it has eyelids and can drop its tail.
Solomon Islands skink Lizard, Solomon Islands. The largest living skink, and it eats only plants.
Texas horned lizard Lizard, south-central USA and Mexico. Can squirt blood from the corners of its eyes at a predator.
Thorny devil Lizard, deserts of Australia. Grooves between its scales carry water to its mouth.
Tokay gecko Lizard, South and Southeast Asia. Named after the male's loud call, which sounds like to-kay.
Tuatara Reptile, New Zealand. Not a lizard: the last of an order that lived beside the dinosaurs.
Veiled chameleon Lizard, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Wears a tall helmet-like crest called a casque.
Viviparous lizard Lizard, Europe and northern Asia. No other land reptile lives so far north.
Western fence lizard Lizard, western USA and Baja California. A protein in its blood kills the Lyme disease germ inside ticks.

Turtles and tortoises 34

African spurred tortoise Tortoise, southern edge of the Sahara. The third-largest tortoise, after the Galápagos and Aldabra giants.
Aldabra giant tortoise Tortoise, Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. About 100,000 live there, the most giant tortoises anywhere.
Alligator snapping turtle Turtle, rivers of the southeastern USA. Lures fish with a worm-shaped bit on the tip of its tongue.
Big-headed turtle Turtle, southern China and Southeast Asia. Its head is too big to pull into its shell.
Common box turtle Turtle, eastern USA and Mexico. A hinge on its lower shell lets it shut itself in completely.
Common snapping turtle Turtle, eastern North America. Its species name, serpentina, means snake-like, after its long mobile neck.
Desert tortoise Tortoise, Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Spends at least 95% of its life in burrows, out of the heat and cold.
Diamondback terrapin Turtle, salt marshes on the east coast of the USA. Lives in brackish water, between fresh and salt.
Eastern long-necked turtle Turtle, eastern Australia. Bends its long neck sideways into its shell, not straight back.
Eastern musk turtle Turtle, eastern North America. Gives off a foul musky smell when scared, so it is also called the stinkpot.
European pond turtle Turtle, Europe, North Africa and western Asia. Dark shelled, with yellow spots on its head and legs.
Flatback sea turtle Sea turtle, seas of northern Australia. All of its nesting beaches are in Australia.
Galápagos tortoise Tortoise, Galápagos Islands. The largest living tortoise.
Gopher tortoise Tortoise, southeastern USA. Its burrows shelter 360 or more other kinds of animal.
Greek tortoise Tortoise, North Africa, southern Europe and southwestern Asia. Has a spur on each thigh.
Green sea turtle Sea turtle, warm seas around the world. Named for its green body fat, not its shell.
Hawksbill sea turtle Sea turtle, tropical coral reefs worldwide. Lives around coral reefs and eats mostly sea sponges.
Hermann's tortoise Tortoise, southern Europe. Its strong tail ends in a horny spike.
Indian star tortoise Tortoise, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Yellow streaks fan out from the centre of each dark shell plate.
Kemp's ridley sea turtle Sea turtle, Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic. The smallest sea turtle, and it nests mainly by day.
Leatherback sea turtle Sea turtle, every ocean, north to Alaska and Norway. The largest turtle, with leathery skin for a shell.
Leopard tortoise Tortoise, eastern and southern Africa. In harsh weather it shelters in old fox, jackal or aardvark burrows.
Loggerhead sea turtle Sea turtle, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Uses its large, powerful jaws to take apart its prey.
Mary River turtle Turtle, Mary River in Queensland, Australia. Takes in oxygen through its rear end to stay under for days.
Mata mata Turtle, Amazon basin. Opens its huge mouth in a flash and sucks fish in whole.
Olive ridley sea turtle Sea turtle, warm Pacific, Indian and Atlantic waters. Females nest together in masses called arribadas.
Painted turtle Turtle, North America, coast to coast. The most widespread native turtle in North America.
Pancake tortoise Tortoise, Kenya and Tanzania. Its flat, bendy shell lets it wedge into rock cracks.
Pig-nosed turtle Turtle, southern New Guinea and northern Australia. A freshwater turtle with flippers like a sea turtle's.
Radiated tortoise Tortoise, southern Madagascar. Yellow lines fan out from the centre of each plate of its shell.
Red-eared slider Turtle, southern USA and northern Mexico. Named for the red stripe by each ear and for sliding off logs.
Red-footed tortoise Tortoise, northern South America. Named for the bright red, orange or yellow scales on its dark legs.
Russian tortoise Tortoise, Central Asia. Two flew around the Moon on the Soviet probe Zond 5 in 1968.
Spiny softshell turtle Turtle, North America. Has a leathery, slightly bendy shell with no hard plates.

Crocodilians 21

American alligator Crocodilian, southeastern USA. With its mouth shut, the upper jaw hides the lower teeth.
American crocodile Crocodilian, southern Florida to northern South America. Shares southern Florida with the American alligator.
Black caiman Crocodilian, Amazon basin. The largest member of the alligator and caiman family.
Broad-snouted caiman Crocodilian, eastern and central South America. Likes still water, and often moves into cattle ponds.
Chinese alligator Crocodilian, lower Yangtze River in China. One of only two living alligator species.
Cuban crocodile Crocodilian, Cuba. Its wild range has shrunk to the Zapata Swamp.
Cuvier's dwarf caiman Crocodilian, northern and central South America. The smallest member of the alligator and caiman family.
Dwarf crocodile Crocodilian, West and Central Africa. The smallest living crocodile.
False gharial Crocodilian, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. Its smooth snout is very long and thin.
Freshwater crocodile Crocodilian, northern Australia. Shy and fairly small, with a slimmer snout than the saltwater crocodile.
Gharial Crocodilian, rivers of northern India and Nepal. Males grow a snout bulb named after a clay pot, the ghara.
Morelet's crocodile Crocodilian, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. Named after the French naturalist who found it in Mexico in 1850.
Mugger crocodile Crocodilian, Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. Digs burrows to get out of extreme heat and cold.
Nile crocodile Crocodilian, sub-Saharan Africa. Africa's largest predator and the second-largest living reptile.
Orinoco crocodile Crocodilian of the Orinoco basin, in Venezuela and Colombia. Arguably the biggest crocodilian of the Americas.
Philippine crocodile Crocodilian, Philippines. A fairly small freshwater crocodile with a broad snout.
Saltwater crocodile Crocodilian, India's east coast to northern Australia. The largest living reptile. Males can reach 6 m long.
Siamese crocodile Crocodilian, Southeast Asia. Very rare in the wild, and many were caught to stock crocodile farms.
Spectacled caiman Crocodilian, Central and South America. A bony ridge between its eyes looks like a pair of spectacles.
West African slender-snouted crocodile Crocodilian, West Africa. Uses its very long, thin snout to catch fish.
Yacare caiman Crocodilian, Pantanal wetlands of South America. Nicknamed the piranha caiman for its visible lower teeth.

How this list was compiled: The choice of the 178 reptiles and every line are our own. Checked 2026-09-19 against two live sources. Each scientific name and range was checked on the species page of The Reptile Database (https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/, saved with each item as src). Each fact line, each venom label and each pet label was checked against the English Wikipedia article for the same animal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ followed by the name, saved as wiki). A snake is labelled venomous, mildly venomous or non-venomous only where its article says so plainly, or, for four pythons and boas, where the Wikipedia articles Pythonidae and Boidae say it of the whole family; where neither does, the card leaves the label off. Lizards carry a venom label only where the article calls them venomous. The Red-eared slider is a subspecies, Trachemys scripta elegans, and is listed on the database page of its species, the pond slider. Four cards were corrected on 2026-09-19 after their database pages were read again: the Rainbow boa, the Red-eared slider, the Red-headed rock agama and the Spider-tailed horned viper. The Green anaconda card was reworded the same day to the more careful of the two claims in its Wikipedia article, one of the longest and heaviest snakes. Conservation status is left out. Licence: own work

How it works

This list holds 178 living reptiles: 70 snakes, 52 lizards and the tuatara, 34 turtles and tortoises and 21 crocodilians. Press Pick 5 new reptiles: each card gives a kind, a home range and one checked fact.

Read the full guide

Venomous, mildly venomous or neither

A snake card says venomous, mildly venomous or non-venomous only where our source says so plainly, so four snakes carry no label. Under More filters, Venomous holds 43 reptiles: 41 snakes, six of them only mildly venomous, plus two lizards, the Mexican beaded lizard and the Gila monster. The Komodo dragon is left out: scientists disagree about whether its bite counts as venomous. The label is for sorting, not safety advice.

Call it: venomous or not

Choose Snakes in the Any kind list and press Hide all facts. Call venomous or not for each name, then press Show fact. The two filters work together: Lizards with Venomous leaves two, and Turtles and tortoises with Often kept as pets leaves 11, seven of them tortoises.

Choose Crocodilians to draw from all 21: crocodiles, alligators, caimans and the two gharials.
Under More filters, choose T in the Starts with list for eight reptiles, from the Tuatara to the Thorny devil.
Seven of the 34 turtles are sea turtles, among them the Leatherback, the largest turtle of all.

Questions and answers

Why are frogs missing from the random reptile generator?

Frogs, newts and salamanders are amphibians. In September 2026 each scientific name and range was checked on The Reptile Database, and each fact against the animal's Wikipedia article. Titanoboa, a snake up to 12.8 m long, is in the random extinct animal generator.

Is a tuatara a lizard?

No. The tuatara of New Zealand looks like a lizard, but it is the only living member of a separate order, Rhynchocephalia. The slow worm is the opposite case: it looks like a snake, but it is a legless lizard with eyelids that close.

Does Often kept as pets mean a reptile is easy to keep?

No. It means only that the animal's Wikipedia article describes it as common in the pet trade or in captivity. The 44 run from the Leopard gecko to the African spurred tortoise. It says nothing about care, cost or the law where you live.