Ways to use this list
- Reptile fact file: spin, then find out where it lives, what it eats and one surprise. The marine iguana, for instance, is the only lizard that feeds in the sea.
- Sorting game for little ones: spin and shout "lizard", "snake", "turtle" or "crocodile", then press that group's button to check the answer.
- Yes-or-no guessing: one player spins with the screen turned away, and the others ask questions like "Does it have legs?" or "Does it have a shell?".
- Zoo or reptile house trip: spin five names before you go and tick off each one you manage to spot behind the glass.
- Scale drawing challenge: spin and sketch the reptile, paying attention to its skin, from the bumpy back of a crocodile to the bead-like scales of a Gila monster.
Press Spin the wheel, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you
like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the
chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a duck race, hat, claw machine and more.
The full list (45 entries)
- Komodo dragon
- Green iguana
- Marine iguana
- Bearded dragon
- Leopard gecko
- Tokay gecko
- Panther chameleon
- Veiled chameleon
- Frilled lizard
- Thorny devil
- Gila monster
- Blue-tongued skink
- Common basilisk
- Horned lizard
- Slow worm
- King cobra
- Black mamba
- Green anaconda
- Reticulated python
- Ball python
- Corn snake
- Boa constrictor
- Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
- Sidewinder
- Garter snake
- Emerald tree boa
- Gaboon viper
- Yellow-bellied sea snake
- Galápagos giant tortoise
- Aldabra giant tortoise
- Leopard tortoise
- Leatherback sea turtle
- Green sea turtle
- Hawksbill sea turtle
- Loggerhead sea turtle
- Alligator snapping turtle
- Box turtle
- Red-eared slider
- Saltwater crocodile
- Nile crocodile
- American alligator
- Chinese alligator
- Gharial
- Spectacled caiman
- Tuatara
Questions people ask
Are frogs and salamanders reptiles?
No, they are amphibians. Amphibians have soft, moist skin and most start life as tadpoles in water. Reptiles have dry, scaly skin and either lay eggs with a tough shell on land or give birth to live young.
What is the biggest reptile in the world?
The saltwater crocodile: large males can reach about 6 metres (20 feet). The Komodo dragon is the heaviest lizard, the reticulated python the longest snake, the green anaconda the heaviest snake and the leatherback the largest turtle.
What is a tuatara, and why is it in a group of its own?
The tuatara lives only in New Zealand. It looks like a lizard but is the last survivor of a separate, very old group of reptiles whose relatives lived alongside the early dinosaurs. Some tuatara live for more than 100 years.
How many kinds of reptile are there?
Scientists know of more than 11,000 species, and new ones are described every year. Lizards are the biggest group, followed by snakes. There are only around 360 kinds of turtle and tortoise and a couple of dozen crocodilians.