Mud Turtle — Mud turtle is the common name given to two genera of aquatic turtles: Kinosternon, mud turtles found in North and South America, and Pelusios, mud turtles found in Africa. Some species are kept as pets. Mud turtles are known for their dull shell colors and relation to the smelly musk turtles. African and American mud turtles are …

Python — The Pythonidae are a family of non-venomous snakes found in Africa, Asia and Australia. Among its members are some of the largest snakes in the world. Currently, 8 genera and 26 species are recognized. Adults range in size from 0.5 to 10 meters (1.5 to 33 feet) in length. One species, Python reticulatus, the reticulated python, holds the …

Monitor — Monitor lizards are the family Varanidae, a group of carnivorous lizards which includes the largest living lizard, the Komodo Dragon. Varanidae contains only a single genus: Varanus. The various species of Varanus cover a vast area, occurring through Africa, the Asian subcontinent from India and Sri Lanka to China, down Southeast Asia to Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, …

Leatherback Turtle — The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all living turtles. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys. As a sea turtle, the leatherback is the largest and heaviest. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a shell. Instead, the carapace of the leatherback turtle is …

Worm Lizard — The Amphisbaenia (Worm Lizard) are a suborder of peculiar, usually legless squamates closely related to lizards and snakes, in spite of their resemblance to earthworms (many possessing a pink body color and scales arranged in rings). They are very poorly understood, due to their burrowing lifestyle and general rarity. Only one species exists in the United States, …

Crocodile — A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the subfamily Crocodylinae). The term can also be used more loosely to include all members of the order Crocodilia: i.e. the true crocodiles, the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae) and the gharials (family Gavialidae), or even the Crocodylomorpha which includes prehistoric crocodile relatives and …

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 …

Bedbug — Bedbugs (or bed bugs) are small nocturnal insects of the family Cimicidae that live by hematophagy, that is by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts. The common bedbug (Cimex lectularius) is the best adapted to human environments. It is found in temperate climates throughout the world and has been known since ancient times. Other …

Junkers Ju 87 — The Junkers (German aircraft manufacturer) Ju 87 or Stuka (from Sturzkampfflugzeug, “dive bomber”) was a two-man (pilot and rear gunner) German ground attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, the Stuka first flew in 1935 and made its combat debut in 1936 as part of the Luftwaffe’s Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. The aircraft was easily …

Tribulus Terrestris (Gokshura) — Family Name: Zygophyllaceae Botanical Name: Tribulus Terrestris Common Name: Land Caltrops, Puncture Vine, Gokshura Part Used: Whole Plant, Seeds Uses: The roots and fruits are sweet, coling, emollient, appetizer, alternate, laxative, cardiotonic, styptic, lithontriptic and tonic. They are useful in strangury, dysuria, vitiated conditions of vat and pitta, renal and vesical calculi, anorexia, dyspepsia, helminthiasis, cough, …