Great Guide
Tortoises
Tortoises (/ˈtɔːr.təs.ɪz/) are a family, Testudinidae, of land-dwelling reptiles in the order Testudines. Tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The carapace is fused to both the vertebrae and ribcage, and tortoises are unique among vertebrates in that ...more ↓
Turtles and Tortoises
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines (or Chelonii) characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs and acting as a shield. "Turtle" may refer to the order as a whole (American English) or to fresh-water and sea-dwelling testudines (British English).
Typical Blind Snakes
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 they have no use for vision, their eyes are mostly vestigial. They have light-detecting ...more ↓
Chameleons
Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. These species come in a range of colors, and many species have the ability to change color.
Caecilians
Gymnophiona is the group of amphibians that includes the legless caecilians and all amphibians more closely related to them than to frogs or salamanders (the "stem-caecilians"). The name derives from the Greek words γυμνος (gymnos, naked) and οφις (ophis, snake), as the caecilians were originally thought to be related to snakes.
Frogs and Toads
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (Ancient Greek an-, without + oura, tail). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" appeared in the early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their origins may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago. Frogs ...more ↓
Salamanders
The Caudata are a group of amphibians containing the salamanders (Urodela) and all extinct species of salamander-like amphibians more closely related to salamanders than to frogs. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and ...more ↓
Glass Frogs
The glass frogs are frogs of the amphibian family Centrolenidae (order Anura). While the general background coloration of most glass frogs is primarily lime green, the abdominal skin of some members of this family is transparent. The internal viscera, including the heart, liver, and gastrointestinal tract, are visible through the skin, hence the common name is given as glass ...more ↓
Narrowmouth Toads
The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 584 species are in 61 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family.
Leptodactylinae
The Leptodactylinae are a subfamily of leptodactylid frogs distributed between southern North America (Texas, USA, and Sonora, Mexico) and South America to Brazil. Their sister taxon is the clade comprising the Leiuperinae and Paratelmatobiinae.
Newts
Salamandridae is a family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Currently, 74 species (with more expected) have been identified in the Northern Hemisphere - Europe, Asia, the northern tip of Africa, and North America. Salamandrids are distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of their bodies and by their ...more ↓
Shrub Frogs
The Rhacophoridae are a family of frog species, which occur in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan; northeastern India to eastern China south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly known as shrub frogs, or more ambiguously as "moss frogs" or "bush frogs". Some Rhacophoridae are called "tree frogs". Among the most ...more ↓
Southern Frogs
The southern frogs form the Leptodactylidae, a diverse family of frogs that probably diverged from other hyloids during the Cretaceous. The family has undergone major taxonomic revisions in recent years, including the reclassification of the former subfamily Eleutherodactylinae into its own family the Eleutherodactylidae; the Leptodactylidae now number 206 species in 15 genera ...more ↓
Typical Frogs
The true frogs, family Ranidae, have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North America, northern South America, Europe, Asia, Madagascar, Africa, and from the East Indies to New Guinea; the species native to Australia—the Australian wood frog ...more ↓
Lungless Salamanders
The Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In terms of number of species, they are by far the largest group of salamanders.
Asian Salamanders
The Asiatic salamanders (family Hynobiidae) are primitive salamanders found all over Asia, and in European Russia. They are closely related to the giant salamanders (family Cryptobranchidae), with which they form the suborder Cryptobranchoidea. About half of hynobiids are unique to Japan.
True Toads
A true toad is any member of the family Bufonidae, in the order Anura (frogs and toads). This is the only family of anurans in which all members are known as toads, although some may be called frogs (such as harlequin frogs). The bufonids now comprise more than 35 genera, Bufo being the most widespread and well known.
Tree Frogs and Allies
The Hylidae are a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic.
Common Caecilians
Caeciliidae is the family of common caecilians. They are found in Central and South America, equatorial Africa and India. Like other caecilians, they superficially resemble worms or snakes.
Long-haired rousette
The Long-haired Rousette (Rousettus lanosus) is a species of megabat in the Pteropodidae family. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
Peter's dwarf epauletted fruit bat
Peter's Dwarf Epauletted Fruit Bat (Micropteropus pusillus) is a species of megabat in the Pteropodidae family. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, ...more ↓
Ethiopian Epauletted Fruit Bat
The Ethiopian Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus labiatus) is a species of megabat in the Pteropodidae family. It is found in Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and moist savanna. It is threatened by habitat ...more ↓
East African Epauletted Fruit Bat
The East African Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus minimus) is a species of megabat in the Pteropodidae family. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and rocky areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
