Weird and Amazing Facts about Reptiles and Amphibians

Do you know that a rattlesnake can still bite after it is dead? How about why you will never see a crocodile stick its tongue out at you, or why turtles do not need to see a dentist? You can find the answer below as well as some other amazing facts that you might not have known about reptiles and amphibians:

1. Antarctica is the only continent that has no reptiles or snakes.

2. Wasps and Bees kill approximately four times as many people in the United States each year than snakes.

3. A snake living at the London Zoo was once fitted with a glass eye.

4. Anacondas are not only the world’s largest snake, they are also one of the few species that give birth live. Females give birth to four to eighty young every year.

5. A rattlesnake is capable of striking for up to an hour after its death. Studies done by the California Academy Sciences in San Francisco have proven that the reflexes, possibly triggered by infrared sensors in the snake, are still active in the snake. Numerous cases have occurred where people have been bitten after decapitating or shooting the snake numerous times.

6. A Basilisk lizard is very crafty about protecting itself from predators while it is sleeping. It usually chooses to sleep at the far end of a small branch that is hanging over a pond or lake. If a snake tries to crawl down the branch to grab it, the additional weight will cause the branch to move and shake the Basilisk safely off into the water.

7. A chameleon’s color change is caused by its emotion, as well as light and temperature, and not by its background.

8. Chameleons are capable of moving and focusing their eyes separately. This gives the ability to look in two different directions at the same time and focus on two separate objects.

9. A chameleon’s tongue is at least as long as its body and capable of stretching to a length more than three times its body length to capture food. When it sees its prey, the chameleon’s tongue is catapulted out of its mouth at super speed and caught with the sticky tip of its tongue.

10. Crocodiles swallow large stones that remain in the stomachs. The stones are used to help them digest their food as well as used as a ballast to help them dive deeper.

11. Both alligators and crocodiles will regrow new teeth to replace ones that are lost. During its lifetime, a crocodile will usually replace its teeth more than forty times.

12. The tongue of a crocodile is attached to the roof of his mouth, making him incapable of sticking his tongue out.

13. While hosting Lorne Greene’s Wild Kingdom, Greene was bitten by an alligator and lost one of his nipples.

14. The most poisonous reptile in the world is not a snake, but a frog. One golden poison arrow frog has enough poison in its system to kill ten to twenty humans.

15. The deadliest snake is not the most poisonous snake. Although the black mamba is far more poisonous, the Asian Cobra kills more people on average.

16. Although frogs are known for their jumping skills, some frogs have also developed the ability to fly. In actuality, these Southeast Asian frogs have flaps of skin between their toes that enable them to glide.

17. The North American wood frog survives winters by freezing. When the temperature drops, the frog is capable of surrounding its organs with water that freezes. During this time, its heart stops beating, it stops breathing, and its kidneys shut down. The frog can stay in this suspended animation for months. When spring comes, the frog begins to thaw and is fully functional within ten hours.

18. During breeding, a male Surinam toad attaches the eggs to the back of the female. The eggs are then absorbed by the spongy dorsal skin. Each egg is embedded into its own honeycomb-like chamber on the toad’s back. They remain there for up to twenty weeks before they emerge by pushing through their mother’s skin and emerging fully metamorphosed frogs.

19. Turtles, toads, and tortoises do not have teeth. Some frogs are also toothless, but most have small cone teeth called maxillary teeth.

20. The “horned toad” is not a toad. It is not even a frog, it is a lizard. It is important to get it right, since some horned lizards are capable of squirting blood from its eyes when it is angry.

21. The bullfrog is believed to be the only animal that never sleeps or even profoundly rests. If you have ever tried to sleep next to a pond, this fact does not seem that unbelievable.

So, now you know why it is safer to hang around toads than rattlesnakes-even dead rattlesnakes. Just make sure you stay away from frogs.

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