DK - WOW! The Visual Encyclopedia of Everything

This is the snake’s tail, which it uses as a fake head to deceive its enemies if threatened

Much smaller than many

pythons, this west African

species is a burrowing

40 snake that eats rodents

▲

PYTHONS

Most of the biggest snakes are pythons – powerful, non-venomous reptiles that kill their prey by coiling around it and squeezing until it cannot breathe.

COLUBRIDS

▼

Three-fifths of all snake species

belong to the colubrid family. Most are harmless, but some, including the mangrove snake,

have venomous fangs at the

backs of their mouths.

▼

VENOMOUS LIZARDS

The Gila monster is one of

just two species of lizard

with a venomous bite. Both

live in deserts in Mexico

and the United

States.

GECKOS

▼

Special hairs beneath the broad toes of many geckos act like

suckers, enabling these active,

agile lizards to climb up any surface, including glass, and

CHAMELEONS even run across ceilings.

▶

Famous for their ability to change their skin colour, chameleons are

slow-moving lizards that hunt by

shooting out their very long,

sticky tongues to catch insects.

IGUANAS

▼

Iguanas are typical lizards –

reptiles that usually have four legs, a long tail, and

scaly skin. Most lizards eat small animals, but

the green iguana is mainly vegetarian.

Snakes shed their outer

skin at least once a year,

emerging with glossy scales

and brighter colours

Ball python

Calabar ground

python

Grass snake

Mangrove

snake

Corn snake

Gila monster

Jackson’s chameleon

Green iguana

Madagascan day gecko

European glass lizard

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