Reptiles
Explore classification, origins, appearance, behavior, observation and care through the published animal profiles for reptiles.
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Published animal profiles
Tyrannosaurus
Reading Tyrannosaurus’s huge jaws and bipedal movement from fossils. Tyrannosaurus rex was a tyrannosaurid theropod living in North America near the end of the Late Cretaceous. Known through bones and teeth from Canada and the United States, it lived at a different time from Jurassic Allosaurus.
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Triceratops
A latest-Cretaceous ceratopsian with three horns and a broad frill. Triceratops was a ceratopsian dinosaur living in Late Cretaceous North America. Its name refers to a three-horned face, taken from the long horns above the eyes and the horn above the nose.
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Brachiosaurus
A sauropod distinguished by long forelimbs and high shoulders. Brachiosaurus was a sauropod dinosaur living in Late Jurassic North America. This page focuses on the North American Brachiosaurus altithorax.
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Stegosaurus
A stegosaur whose back plates and tail spikes merit separate attention. Stegosaurus was a stegosaurian dinosaur of the Late Jurassic. A representative herbivore known from North America's Morrison Formation, it did not live at the same time as the latest-Cretaceous Tyrannosaurus.
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Bearded Dragon
A lizard with beard-like scales and head and foreleg signals. Bearded dragon is a name used for lizards in the genus Pogona; here it means the central bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps. It lives in dry woodland, scrub and grassland in inland Australia.
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Corn Snake
Consider the checkered belly alongside the ecology of catching rodents. The corn snake is a naturally occurring North American snake species, not a human-created breed like those of dogs or cats. Its current scientific name is Pantherophis guttatus, connected with Elaphe guttata in older material.
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Sea Turtle
Distinguish sea turtles generally from the green turtle's diet. Sea turtle is a name including several species. This page uses the green turtle Chelonia mydas as a representative species, distinguishing it from leatherbacks, hawksbills and others.
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Chameleon
Chameleon color change means more than copying background colors. Chameleon is a name including several species. Here the veiled chameleon Chamaeleo calyptratus, also called the Yemen chameleon, is used as the representative species.
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