Reptiles of Australia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

are a diverse group of animals, widely distributed across the continent. Three of the four orders of reptiles are native to Australia: Testudines, Squamata

Squamata

Squamata, or the scaled reptiles, is the largest recent order of reptiles, including lizards and snakes. Members of the order are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scales or shields. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making it possible to move the upper jaw relative to the...

and Crocodilia

Crocodilia

Crocodilia is an order of large reptiles that appeared about 84 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period . They are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria...

. The only missing extant order is Sphenodontia

Sphenodontia

Sphenodontia is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living genus, the tuatara , and only two living species...

, containing the tuatara

Tuatara

The tuatara is a reptile endemic to New Zealand which, though it resembles most lizards, is actually part of a distinct lineage, order Sphenodontia. The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of its order, which flourished around 200 million years ago. Their most recent common...

s, which are endemic to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Australia has a large diversity of reptiles, with over 860 species. This is rich in comparison to other continents. For example, North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

has approximately 280 species of reptile. The most diverse group is Squamata

Squamata

, also known as the snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

s and lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...

s. The snakes and lizards are especially diverse in the arid areas of Australia, where diversity of other fauna is generally low. Spinifex

Spinifex

Spinifex may refer to:* Spinifex , a genus of grass which is indigenous to the coastal areas of Australasia and Indonesia* Triodia , a hummock grass of arid Australia, covering twenty percent of the Australian continent ** Spinifex resin* Spinifex people, or Pila Nguru, an Australian...

grass is a major habitat which allows them to remain in a relatively cool, moist area.

Australia has a large array of reptiles which can be dangerous to humans. The world's largest reptile, the Saltwater Crocodile

Saltwater Crocodile

The saltwater crocodile, also known as estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles...

(Crocodylus porosus), is native to Australia.

Australian reptile families

Family	Common Names	Example Species	Example Photo
Testudines - 4 families
Cheloniidae Cheloniidae Cheloniidae is a family of turtles belonging to the sea turtle superfamily Chelonioidea.-Extant genera:Genus CarettaLoggerhead sea turtle Genus Chelonia*Green sea turtle Genus Eretmochelys...	Sea turtles	Green Sea Turtle Green Sea Turtle The Green sea turtle or green turtle is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans... (Chelonia mydas)
Dermochelyidae Dermochelyidae Dermochelyidae is a family of turtles which has eight extinct and one extant genera.-Classification of known genera:Subfamily Desmatochelyinae* Corochelys ** Desmatochelys Subfamily Allopleuroninae * Allopleuron ** Eosphargis...	Leatherback Sea Turtle	Leatherback Sea Turtle Leatherback Sea Turtle The leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all living sea turtles and the fourth largest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell. Instead, its... (Dermochelys coriacea)
Chelidae Chelidae The Chelidae are one of the three living families of the turtle suborder Pleurodira and are commonly called the Austro-South American Side Neck turtles. The Family is distributed in Australia, New Guinea, parts of Indonesia and throughout most of South America. It is a large family of turtles with...	Austro-American Side-necked Turtles	Common Snakeneck Turtle Common snakeneck turtle The eastern long-necked turtle , also known as the eastern snake-necked turtle, common snake-necked turtle or common long-necked turtle, has as its most distinctive feature its extremely long neck. In some cases, this turtle's neck can be as long as its carapace... (Chelodina longicollis)
Carettochelyidae	Pig-nosed Turtle	Pig-nosed Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)
Squamata Squamata Squamata, or the scaled reptiles, is the largest recent order of reptiles, including lizards and snakes. Members of the order are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scales or shields. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making it possible to move the upper jaw relative to the... - 12 families
Family	Common Names	Example Species	Example Photo
Gekkonidae	Geckos	Thick-tailed Gecko Underwoodisaurus milii Underwoodisaurus milii is a species of Gekkonidae also classified as Nephrurus milii. It is commonly known as the thick-tailed or barking gecko. These names come from its distinctive plump tail and sharp, barking defensive call.... (Underwoodisaurus milii)
Pygopodidae Pygopodidae Pygopodidae is a family of squamates that have reduced or absent limbs and are related to the geckos. There are at least 35 species in two subfamilies and eight genera. They have unusually long, slender, bodies, giving them a strong resemblance to snakes...	Legless lizards	Burton's Legless-lizard Lialis burtonis Lialis burtonis, or Burton's legless lizard, is a pygopodid lizard found in Australia and New Guinea.-Description:... (Lialis burtonis)
Agamidae Agamidae Agamids, lizards of the family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Phylogenetically they may be sister to the Iguanidae, and have a similar appearance. Agamids usually have...	-	Eastern Bearded Dragon Eastern Bearded Dragon The Eastern bearded dragon is an agamid lizard found in wooded parts of Australia. It is one of a group of species known commonly as Bearded Dragons... (Pogona barbata)
Varanidae Varanidae Varanidae is a group of lizards of the superfamily Varanoidea. The family is a group of carnivorous lizards which includes the largest living lizard, the Komodo dragon, and the crocodile monitor. Varanidae contains the living genus Varanus and a number of extinct taxa...	Monitors or goannas	Lace Monitor Lace monitor The Lace Monitor, or Lace Goanna, Varanus varius, is a member of the monitor lizard family, Australian members of which are commonly known as goannas. It belongs to the subgenus Varanus.... (Varanus varius)
Scincidae	Skinks	Western Blue-Tongued Skink (Tiliqua occipitalis)
Typhlopidae Typhlopidae The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel like burrowing structure. They live underground in burrows, and since...	Blind snakes	-	-
Pythonidae	Pythons	Green Tree Python Green Tree Python Morelia viridis, the green tree python, is a species of python found in New Guinea, islands in Indonesia, and Cape York Peninsula in Australia.-Description:Adults average in length, with a maximum length of about 7 feet... (Morelia viridis)
Colubridae	Colubrid snakes	Brown Tree Snake Brown tree snake The brown tree snake is an arboreal rear-fanged colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, Papua New Guinea, and a large number of islands in northwestern Melanesia.... (Boiga irregularis)
Elapidae Elapidae Elapidae is a family of venomous snakes found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, terrestrially in Asia, Australia, Africa, North America and South America and aquatically in the Pacific and Indian Oceans...	-	Common Death Adder Common Death Adder The Common Death Adder , is a species of Death Adder native to Australia. It is one of the most venomous land snakes in Australia and the world. Unlike its sister species of Death Adders, the Common Death Adder is common and is not under major threat.-Description:Common Death Adders have broad... (Acanthophis antarcticus)
Hydrophiidae	Sea snakes	-	-
Laticaudidae	Sea kraits	-	-
Acrochordidae Acrochordidae The Acrochordidae are a monotypic family created for the genus Acrochordus. This is a group of primitive aquatic snakes found in Australia and Indonesia. Currently, 3 species are recognized.-Description:...	File snakes	Arafura File Snake (Acrochordus arafurae)
Crocodilia Crocodilia Crocodilia is an order of large reptiles that appeared about 84 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period . They are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria... - 1 family
Family	Common Names	Example Species	Example Photo
Crocodylidae	Crocodiles	Freshwater Crocodile Freshwater Crocodile The freshwater crocodile , also known as the Australian freshwater crocodile, Johnston's crocodile or colloquially as freshie, is a species of reptile endemic to the northern regions of Australia... (Crocodylus johnstoni)

Australian reptile families

See also