Chameleon — Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are squamates that belong to one of the best-known lizard families. The name “chameleon” means “Earth lion” and is derived from the Greek words chamai (on the ground, on the earth) and leon (lion). Chameleons vary greatly in size and body structure, with total length from approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) in Brookesia minima, to …

Caiman — The Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) is a crocodilian reptile found in much of Central and South America. It lives in a range of lowland wetland and riverine habitat types and can tolerate salt water as well as fresh; due in part to this adaptabilty it is the most common of all crocodilian species. Males of the species are …

Bushmaster — Lachesis (Bushmaster) is a genus of venomous pit vipers found in the remote, forested areas in Central and South America. The generic name refers to one of the Three Fates in Greek mythology; Lachesis determined the length of the thread of life. Three species are currently recognized. Adults vary in length from 2 to 2.5 m, although and …

Boomslang — A boomslang (Dispholidus typus) is a relatively small, venomous colubrid snake native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is currently the only species in its genus, although several species and subspecies have been described in the past. Its name means “tree snake” in Afrikaans and Dutch. It is thought to be closely related to members of the genera Thelotornis, Thrasops, …

Boa — Boa is a common name for non poisonous snake of boa and python family. Boa and python family contains some 70 species. Like pythons boa too kill their prey by constricting them to death and then swallowing it whole. They can stretch their jaws wide appart more than the size of their head to swallow a large animal. …

Australian Frilled Lizard — The Frill-necked Lizard, or Frilled Lizard also known as the Frilled Dragon, (Chlamydosaurus kingii) is so called because of the large ruff of skin which usually lies folded back against its head and neck. The neck frill is supported by long spines of cartilage, and when the lizard is frightened, it gapes its mouth showing a …

Anaconda — Anacondas are four species of aquatic boa inhabiting the swamps and rivers of the dense forests of tropical South America. The Yellow Anaconda can be found as far south as northern Argentina. There are two possible origins for the word ‘anaconda.’ It is perhaps an alteration of the Sinhalese word henakandaya, meaning ’whip snake’, or alternatively, the Tamil …

Alligator — An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The name alligator is an anglicized form of the Spanish el lagarto (“the lizard”), the name by which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. There are two living alligator species: the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis). …

Sawfly — Sawflies make up the suborder Symphyta, a group of largely phytophagous insects in the order Hymenoptera. This group is an artificial assemblage of superfamilies (the overall group is paraphyletic), but the name is still in common use, and treated as a suborder, though it seems likely it will be phased out in future classifications. These superfamilies are regarded …

Silkworm — The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of Bombyx mori (Latin: “silkworm of the mulberry tree”), the domesticated silkmoth. A moth in the family Bombycidae, it is very important economically as the producer of silk. It is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild. Silk culture has been practised for …