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Reptiles

The Hopkins’ rose nudibranch is a carnivorous sea slug that obtains its trademark color from eating pink moss animals.

14 Fun Facts About Bright Pink Animals

From jellyfish to millipedes, the rosy hues make rare but exciting appearances in nature

An artist's rendering of a new species of mosasaur named Xenodens calminechari. The marine reptile was about the size of a porpoise and had serrated shark-like teeth.

New Research

Newly Discovered Marine Reptile Sawed Prey With Serrated Teeth

Researchers say the new species of mosasaur had teeth unlike those of any known reptile

The male of a newly discovered species named Brookesia nana may be the smallest adult reptile ever found.

New Research

Chameleon Discovered in Madagascar May Be World’s Smallest Reptile

The male of the newly described species measured just half an inch long from his nose to the base of his tail

The Tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, is a unique reptile found in New Zealand. New research suggests the species has two mitochondrial genomes.

Smithsonian Voices

Scientists Discover This Peculiar New Zealand Reptile Has Two ‘Powerhouse’ Genomes

The research could help zoologists understand what makes tuataras so genetically different from all other reptiles.

Reptile keepers are warming up to a new monitor lizard this winter, a young Komodo dragon named Onyx.

Smithsonian Voices

How to Care for Komodo Dragons, the World’s Largest Lizards

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is warming up to a new monitor lizard this winter, a young Komodo dragon named Onyx

Fossil remains of crocodiles from as early as the Jurassic period show identifying characteristics in modern crocodiles

Are Crocodiles Flawless? The Reptiles Haven’t Changed in 200 Million Years

For crocs, slow and steady wins the evolutionary race

A newly described python species named Messelopython freyi. The 47-million-year-old specimen is the world’s oldest known fossil record of a python.

New Research

Oldest-Ever Python Fossil Found in Europe

The 47-million-year-old snake pushes the evolutionary origins of the group back some 20 million years

An artist's illustration of a newly described species of ichthyosaur called Thalassodraco etchesi swimming in the Late Jurassic seas off the coast of England.

New Research

Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovers New ‘Sea Dragon’ Species on British Beach

Researchers think the new species may have been a deep diving specialist, due to its cavernous ribcage and enlarged eyes

The pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived in the age of the dinosaurs. This is an artist's illustration of a member of the genus Pteranodon, which included some of the largest known flying reptiles. .

New Research

Study Reveals Humble Origins of Flying Pterosaurs

Tiny, flightless reptiles called lagerpetids may have given rise to the largest flying animal ever to have lived on Earth

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Smithsonian Voices

Rare Iridescent Snake Discovered in Vietnam

The discovery could help scientists piece together new information about snake evolution.

Black-and-white tegus are more resistant to cold than most reptiles because they can raise their body temperature about 50 degrees Fahrenheit above that of the environment

These Four-Foot Lizards Will Eat Anything—and They’re Invading the Southeastern U.S.

Tegus first appeared in the wild of southern Florida a decade ago, but now they’re in Georgia and South Carolina, too

Qing-Hua Shang, Xiao-Chun Wu and Chun Li / Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

New Prehistoric Marine Reptile Resembled a Miniature Mix of Loch Ness Monster, Alligator and Toothy T. Rex

The researchers originally thought the fossils belonged to the well-known nothosaurs, but analysis revealed an entirely new species

A stunned iguana lying on the ground during a cold snap in Florida on January 22, 2020. When temperatures dropped into the 30s and 40s, some of these cold blooded lizards lost their grip and fell from their nighttime perches up in the trees.

New Research

Lizards Fell From Palm Trees During a Florida Cold Snap, but Now They’ve Toughened Up

New research finds the lizards are now able to withstand temperatures up to 7.2 degrees colder than lizards tested in 2016

Rattlesnakes can bite after death.

14 Fun Facts About Frightening Animals

From snakes that eat their prey alive to primates that inject their peers with flesh-rotting venom, these are the scariest deeds committed by critters

Two-headed snakes struggle more when their heads are joined close together.

In Florida, Pet Cat Brings Home a Rare Two-Headed Snake

The snake is now in the care of Florida Wildlife Conservation’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

100,000 people die from venomous snakebites each year, a problem the Instituto Clodomiro Picado seeks to address with its antivenoms.

The Lab Saving the World From Snake Bites

A deadly shortage of venom antidote has spurred a little-known group of scientists in Costa Rica to action

A Galápagos tortoise specimen from the California Academy of Sciences

How an Expedition to the Galápagos Islands Saved One of the World’s Largest Natural History Museums

A soon-to-be digitized and publicly accessible collection of specimens helped resurrect the California Academy of Sciences

Sea turtle eggs, rumored to have aphrodisiac properties, are frequently poached from Costa Rican beaches

3-D Printed Sea Turtle Eggs Reveal Poaching Routes

Scientists put GPS locators inside plastic eggs to find trafficking destinations in Costa Rica

The Tokay gecko is a species native to Southeast Asia, where a large percentage of traded reptiles come from

A Quarter of All Reptile Species, Many of Them Endangered, Are Sold Online

A new study finds 75 percent of the species sold are not regulated by any trade agreement

Researchers collecting tears from Broad-snouted caiman.

New Research

Microscopically, Crocodile Tears Look Sort of Like Our Own

Humans are the only species known to cry in response to emotional turmoil, but a new study finds reptile and avian tears aren’t so different

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