AUSTRALIAN REPTILES

Reptiles are cold-blooded vertebrates (animals with a back bone or spinal column)  and  this group of animals includes turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodiles and alligators.

Australia is home to approximately 1,000 species of reptiles, and although no crocodiles or alligators are featured in this photo gallery, there are plenty of equally fascinating creatures to discover here.

Australia can boast of having more species of lizards than any other country, and here you’ll be introduced to the Shingleback / Blue-tongued / Bobtail lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, that thrives in many areas of the continent, including outback regions.

The goanna, a Lace Monitor lizard, Varanus varius, is among the largest of Australian lizards, and this gallery includes unique photos of this great reptiles in a rarely seen mating / courtship embrace. The Bearded Dragon, Pogona barbata, is featured here too, with images showing it both in a threatening pose and eating fruit, in addition to images of its closest relative the Central Bearded Dragon, Pogona vitticeps.

There are also photos of the Eastern Water Dragon, Intellagama lesueurii, in its natural aquatic habitat, with a fish that has become its prey, as well as on land. Then there’s the curious Burton’s Snake-lizard, Lialis burtonis. a legless lizard that masquerades as a snake, but the star attraction here, however, is the rare and unusual Moritz’s Leaf-tailed Gecko, Saltuarius moritzi.

This gallery also includes images of both venomous and non-venomous snakes, including the Red-bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus and the Carpet Python, Morelia spilota, a species that crushes its prey to death. Less threatening animals shown here are the freshwater Krefft’s Turtle, Emydura macquarii krefftii; and the Loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, a marine species that lays its eggs on Australia’s sandy shores.

CLICK ON A PHOTO TO SEE A LARGER VIEW AND FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE IMAGE.