I hope all of you know about Reptiles. Reptiles are the most important and diverse group in animal kingdom. We find reptiles as fascinating because of their different type of behavior and physical attributes. Let us see some interesting facts about reptiles.
- We can see more than 8,000 species of reptiles on our planet and these reptiles live in every continent except Antarctica because it is very cold there.
- The reptiles are one of the longest lived species on earth. We can see tortoises which lived more than 150 years. The Alligators can live up to more than 70 years. Ball Pythons can live up to nearly 40 years.
- Many of the snakes in this world are not poisonous. About 500 species of snakes are poisonous but only 30 to 40 are only considered as harmful to human beings. So less than 2% of all the snakes are harmful to humans.
- Do you know that more Americans die because of bee stings than because of snake bites.
- Many of the reptiles do not tolerate cold temperature. But the Blanding's turtle is found some times swimming under the ice in the Great Lakes region in USA.
- Do you know that the skulls of snakes are made of small bones which are inter connected in a flexible fashion. Where as human skull is a single solid piece. So the snakes can expand their jaws and heads in order to eat prey which are larger than their heads.
- The snakes shed their skin in relation to their growth rate. You can see a young snake shed more often because they grow fastest during the first two years of their life where as a old snake will shed its skin less often because its growth rate is less.
- The King Cobra is the largest poisonous snake in the world It can grow upto more than 18 feet.
- Most of the snakes lay eggs. But almost one-fifth of all the snakes give birth to young ones instead of eggs. Rattle snakes are examples that give birth to young ones.
