reptile: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- Circulatory systemThe blood vessels
- Circulatory systemReptiles
- ExcretionBirds and reptiles
- Integument
- IntegumentEmbryology and evolution
- Animal reproductive systemGonads, associated structures, and products
- SexMating modifications imposed by the land environment
- Respiratory systemReptiles
- skeletonAmphibians and higher vertebrates
Additional Reading
General works
General surveys of reptiles and their life histories, with many photographs, are found in H.M. Cogger and R.G. Zweifel, Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians, 2nd ed. (2003); and Tim Halliday and Kraig Adler (eds.), The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians (2002). College-level texts that provide an excellent overview of reptiles and general herpetology include George R. Zug, Laurie J. Vitt, and Jan P. Caldwell, Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles, 2nd ed. (2001); and F. Harvey Pough et al., Herpetology, 3rd ed. (2004).
Well-organized field guides and taxonomic summaries with excellent maps and photographs include Mark O’Shea and Tim Halliday, Reptiles and Amphibians, ed. by David A. Dickey (2002); Tim Halliday and Kraig Alder (eds.), Firefly Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians (2002); Roger Conant and Joseph T. Collins, A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America, 3rd ed. (1998); John Coborn, The Mini-Atlas of Snakes of the World (1994); Roy W. McDiarmid, Jonathan A. Campbell, and T’Shaka A. Touré, Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3 vol. (1999– ); and John B. Iverson, A Revised Checklist with Distribution Maps of the Turtles of the World (1997). In addition, B. Gill and T. Whitaker, New Zealand Frogs and Reptiles (1996), provides a general overview of tuataras.
Advanced works
Carl Gans et al. (eds.), Biology of the Reptilia, 19 vol. (1968–98), is a highly technical series of detailed reviews on various aspects of reptilian anatomy, physiology, behaviour, ecology, and embryology. Ludwig Trutnau and Ralf Sommerlad, Crocodilians: Their Natural History and Captive Husbandry (2006), is an invaluable resource that covers crocodilian evolution and classification, ecology, conservation and management, physiology, and behaviour. Other technical treatments that consider various aspects of the anatomy, natural history, and ecology of living reptiles include Richard A. Seigel, Joseph T. Collins, and Susan S. Novak, Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (2001); Jonathan A. Campbell and William W. Lamar, The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere, 2 vol. (2004); G.C. Grigg, F. Seebacher, and C. Franklin (eds.), Crocodilian Biology and Evolution (2001); and L.J. Vitt and E.R. Pianka (eds.), Lizard Ecology: Historical and Experimental Perspectives (1994).
Reptile evolution and paleontology
The evolution of reptiles within the context of other vertebrates is carefully considered in Robert L. Carroll, Patterns and Processes of Vertebrate Evolution (1998); and Michael J. Benton Vertebrate Paleontology, 3rd ed. (2005). A succinct overview of the various evolutionary adaptations possessed by lizards is presented in Eric R. Pianka, Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity (2006). Ronald Orenstein, Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins: Survivors in Armor (2001), is a popular and well-illustrated account that addresses turtle conservation and evolution as well as natural history. A highly accessible treatment of the evolution of flight in pterosaurs and other reptiles is found in Phillip J. Currie, The Flying Dinosaurs: The Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of Flight (2002). A semi-technical review of dinosaur evolution, biology, and research is found in James O. Farlow, The Complete Dinosaur, ed. by M.K. Brett-Surman (1999). Anthony J. Martin, Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs, 2nd ed. (2006), provides a general treatment of dinosaur evolution that highlights the process of paleontological research.
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
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Herndon G. Dowling
Emeritus Professor of Biology, New York University, New York City. Curator of Reptiles, New York Zoological Park, 1960–67.
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George R. Zug
Curator Emeritus, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Other Contributors
- Marc Jones
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified link of Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Reptiles. | Nov 08, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Reptiles in Canada. | May 26, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cell Press - Current Biology - Threats to reptiles at global and regional scales. | Apr 09, 2026 | ||
| Updated the number of living reptile species. | Dec 17, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: PNAS - Phylogenomics of nonavian reptiles and the structure of the ancestral amniote genome. | Sep 06, 2025 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 02, 2025 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 13, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - The untapped potential of reptile biodiversity for understanding how and why animals age. | Sep 13, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: MSD Veterinary Manual - Reptiles. | Aug 02, 2024 | ||
| Media added. | Jun 12, 2024 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Apr 24, 2024 | ||
| Links added. | Sep 29, 2023 | ||
| Links added. | Aug 11, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Animal Corner - Reptile. | Jun 30, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Hawaii - Exploring Our Fluid Earth - Reptiles. | May 01, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Reptiles. | Sep 22, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: AZ Animals - Reptiles: Different Types, Definition, Photos, and more. | Apr 26, 2022 | ||
| Noted that the adult male nano-chameleon (Brookesia nana) is the smallest known living reptile. | Feb 11, 2021 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Nov 27, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Nov 14, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Dec 01, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: San Diego Zoo.Kids - Reptile. | Dec 21, 2016 | ||
| Corrected cross-reference. | Jul 07, 2016 | ||
| Deleted audio clip and added video. | Mar 01, 2016 | ||
| The word "tuataratuatara" changed to "tuatara." | Jul 14, 2015 | ||
| Order "Sphenodontida" replaced with "Rhynchocephalia." Text added noting the alternate-name status of "Sphenodontida." |
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Jul 10, 2015 | |
| Text noting the emergence of the first snakes during the Middle Jurassic Period added. | Jan 29, 2015 | ||
| Replaced photograph. | Apr 24, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Quatr.us - What are Reptiles? | Feb 13, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Enchanted Learning - Reptile. | Jan 27, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Reptile. | Jan 27, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cornell University - Department of Entomology - Amphibians and Reptiles. | Jan 18, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Science Kids - Fun Science and Technology for Kids - Reptile. | Mar 16, 2012 | ||
| Alternate name of the crocodilian order, Crocodilia, added. | Dec 28, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: NeoK12 - Educational Videos and Games for School Kids - Reptile. | Nov 03, 2011 | ||
| Added diagram of selected body plans of extinct reptiles. | Jul 12, 2011 | ||
| Added diagram of vomeronasal organ. | Jun 30, 2010 | ||
| Added image of specialized structures of lizards. | Apr 13, 2010 | ||
| Corrected taxonomy of viviparous lizard. | Apr 13, 2010 | ||
| New text changing the timing of tetrapod emergence to 397 million years ago added. | Jan 08, 2010 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 06, 2009 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jul 24, 2008 | ||
| Bibliography revised and updated. | Jul 24, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Zoological Society of San Diego - Animal Bytes - Reptiles. | Jul 22, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Reptiles in Canada. | Jul 22, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Environmental Education For Kids - Reptiles. | Jun 18, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Animal Corner - Galapagos Reptiles. | Feb 12, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Animal Diversity Web - Reptilia. | Feb 11, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Biology4kids - Reptile. | Jan 12, 2007 | ||
| Article revised. | Sep 08, 2000 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |