Reptiles - ancient reptiles were known as the dinosaurs. Today, reptiles are much smaller than their larger relatives. Find out about many of these creatures and their lifestyle in the modern world.
Reptiles are cold-blooded, air-breathing vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers.
Reptiles are 'tetrapods' (vertebrate animals that have four feet, legs or leg like appendages) and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane and members of the class Sauropsida.
Amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs, birds and mammals are all tetrapods and even the limbless snakes are tetrapods by descent.
The earliest tetrapods developed from lobe-finned fish, into air-breathing amphibians in the Devonian period. There are around 8,225 species of reptile on our planet. Today they are represented by four surviving orders:
Ancient reptiles were known as the dinosaurs. Todays reptiles are much smaller when compared to the gigantic sizes of the Diplodocus or the Brachiosaurus.
However, they are all descendants of these magnificent beasts that survived millions of years ago.
Reptiles have existed since the beginning of time. Even snakes were around in the Cretaceous period.
Modern reptiles inhabit every continent except for Antarctica, although their main distribution comprises of the tropics and subtropics. There are many species of reptile that survive in Rainforests throughout the globe.
