ReptilesLook Closero o

A Dorling Kindersley Book

Text by Sue MalyanEditor Fleur Star

Senior designer Janet AllisPublishing manager Susan LeonardManaging art editor Clare Shedden

Jacket design Simon OonPicture researcher Sarah Mills

Production Luca BazzoliDTP Designer Almudena Díaz

First published in Great Britain in 2005 byDorling Kindersley Limited

80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL

A Penguin Company

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Copyright © 2005 Dorling Kindersley Limited, London

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN 1-4053-1167-3

Colour reproduction by Colourscan, SingaporePrinted and bound in China by Hung Hing

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LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH,

MELBOURNE, and DELHI

Look out for us. We willshow you the size of every

animal in this book.

Contents6 Spot and snap

8 Can you spot me?

10 Slither, slither

12 A bite to eat

14 Open wide

16 Splash and grab

18 Slowcoach

20 Sunbathers

22 Hunting for dinner

23 Index and

Glossary

Spot and snapCreeping slowly out of its burrow, this spottedsalamander is looking to snap up its dinner. Did you know...

I think

I’ve spotted dinner.

6

My long, thinshape helps meto burrow intothe ground.

... A salamander likes to live in a

shady place to helpits skin stay wet. Ifits skin dried out,

it would die.

When I spot aninsect or a worm,I quickly snap itup in my jaws.

Spotted salamanders cangrow between 11 cm (41⁄2 in) and 24 cm

(91⁄2 in) long.

7

If I am attacked,a nasty-tastingpoison oozesfrom my skin.

Can you spot me?

slurp

8

After I’ve eaten, I give my face a goodwash with my tongue.

This Madagascan day gecko’sbrightly coloured skin hides itperfectly among the greenleaves of its rainforest home.

The Madagascan daygecko is a type of lizard.

It can grow to 30 cm (12 in) long.

Did you know...

scaly... That a gecko’s

tail comes off! If agecko gets attacked,

it can run away and leave its tail

behind.

9

My toes grip so well that Ican run upside-down alongthe underneath of branches.

Slither, slitherFrogs and newts need towatch out when this grasssnake comes looking for food. If it catches a victim, it swallows it alive and whole!

I’m not poisonous,but if I wave myhead and hiss I can look reallyfrightening.

Slow wormsare around

50 cm (20 in)long, but grass snakes can

grow to two or three times that size.

10

I flick my tonguein and out to pickup smells fromthe air.

I’m called a slow-worm, but I’mreally a kind of lizard with no legs.

hisssss

sss

Did you know...

... Snakes have no eyelids, so theynever blink. Theylook like they are

staring all the time.

My scales are smooth.

11

A bite to eatDon’t come too close!These snapping turtles lookslow and harmless, butthey could easily biteoff one of yourfingers or toes!

Did you know...

12

... Tiny plantscalled algae grow

on the turtle’s shell.This helps it to hide among theswamp plants.

My beak grows allthe time, so it isalways sharp andready to bite.

I’m not a goodswimmer, so Iusually walk alongunder the water.

It’s hard to see me at thebottom of thecreek or swamp.

These turtles grow fast, fromjust 12 cm (5 in) aged two to 35 cm (14 in)

aged 15.

S t r e - t - c - h

that neck!

13When a fish swimspast, I shoot out my long neck andgobble it up.

Open wideOpening its huge jaws, this mangrovesnake is ready to pounce. It poisonsits prey, then swallows it whole.

14

I inject poison intomy prey from my back teeth.

Did you know...Mangrove snakes can grow to 2.5 m (8 ft), three timeslonger than thered-sided garter

snake.

... A snake canopen its mouthwide enough toswallow thingsbigger than its

own head!

Come

here,littlebird.

15

I’m a red-sided garter snake. I like to live near water.

I can swim andclimb trees.

Splash and grabThese caimans look like logsfloating quietly in the water.Then suddenly – splash! A caiman lunges forwards and grabs its prey in its jaws.

16

I poke the top of myhead out of the waterto see and breathe.

Once I’ve got a fish inmy teeth, it has nochance of escape.

I’m really tough! Under my thickscales I have a layer of bonyplates that protect my body.

Did you know...

These caimans are babies just45 cm (18 in) long,but adults grow to

be longerthan yourbed.

17

... A caiman can’t chew. If itsprey is too big to

swallow in one go,it rips off bite-sized

pieces.

SlowcoachTortoises are slow movers.They can’t run away fromenemies, so they rely ontheir shells to protect them.

These desert tortoises are 36 cm (14 in) long – tiny

compared to theirmassive Galapagostortoise cousins, who are 1.2 m (4 ft) long.

18

My shell is very strong. It’s made of bones that arecovered in big, horny scales.

Did you know...

... The rings on a tortoise’s shell

scales show its age.The more rings,

the older thetortoise is.

plod

, plod, plod

19

I don’t haveany teeth, butmy jaws arevery sharp.

I’m more than 100years old. I mighteven reach my200th birthday. If I’m frightened,

I pull my headand legs backinto my shell.

SunbathersLying on a branch, thisgreen iguana warmsitself in the sunshine. Its colour helps it to hideamong the leaves.

The greeniguana is 1m (3 ft) long

from nose to tail.

20

If someone disturbs me, I will dive into the waterbelow and swim away.

I can runvery fast toescape frompredators.

I stick out this flap of skinwhen I want tolook big andfrightening.

Did you know...

nibblenib

ble

21

... Iguanas haveamazingly good

eyesight. They can seeanother iguana morethan 100 m (330 ft)

away.

Hunting for dinnerSliding quickly and silently across the rocky desert, a hungry king snakelooks for a bird or lizard to eat.

Did you know...

... When a snakegrows, its skin

splits and falls off.This reveals a new,

bigger skinunderneath.

It’s hard to find

22

As I slither along, my scales gripthe ground to stop me slipping.

food out here.

23

Sometimes I have towait a long time for mymeal, but I can go fordays without eating.

beak 12caiman 16-17eyes 11, 21, 23grass snake 10-11green iguana 20-21jaws 7, 14, 15, 16, 19king snake 22-23lizard 6-7, 8-9, 10,

20-21Madagascan day gecko

8-9mangrove snake

14-15neck 13poison 7, 10, 14

red-sided garter snake 15

salamander 6-7scales 17, 18, 22shell 12, 18, 19skin 6, 7, 8, 21, 22slow worm 10snake 10-11, 14-15,

22-23snapping turtle 12-13teeth 14, 16toes 9tongue 8, 10tortoise 18-19water 12, 13, 15, 16, 20

Index

GlossaryBurrow an undergroundhole that an animal lives in.It is also the action of diggingthe hole.

Creek a small, narrow partof a sea, river, or lake thatcomes inland. Also called a brook.

Poison a liquid or othersubstance that kills or harmsan animal if the animaltouches or eats it.

Predator an animal thathunts and kills other animalsto eat.

Prey creatures an animalhunts for food.

Rainforest a tropical forestthat has a lot of rainfall. Itsvery tall trees form a canopyall year round.

Reptile an animal class thatincludes crocodiles, lizards,snakes, and turtles. They liveon land or in water, and lay eggs.

Swamp soggy land that issometimes covered in water.

A king snakeis between

1m (3 ft)and 2 m

(6 ft) long,but it can

swallow prey bigger than itself.

I can’t see very well. I only spot things thatare moving around.