Most of the information here comes from The Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians, 1st ed. (1986). (See also 2nd ed., 1998.) For species figures I consulted Herpetology, 1st ed., by Pough et al. (1998). (See also 2nd ed., 2000.)

	Described living species				Stories
	Class Reptilia. Reptiles. Reptiles are cold-blooded vertebrates which, unlike amphibians, possess thick, impermeable skin covered by scales. They have lungs (not gills), and usually a three-chambered heart (except for crocodilians, whose hearts have four chambers). Their eggs are covered with watertight shells; thus have they severed the amphibians' link to water and fully conquered land.			7,131
		Order Testudines. Turtles. Turtles are distinguished by their large shells, which consist of an outer carapace and a breast-covering plastron. They live throughout the world, in the ocean, in fresh water, and on land (in which case they are called tortoises). Some turtles are believed to live for more than 150 years. Only distantly related to other living reptiles, turtles have changed little in the last 300 million years.		260	Tortoise
		Order Rhynchocephala. Tuataras. Only two species remain of this ancient line of lizard-like reptiles, which now live only in certain parts of New Zealand.		2
		Order Squamata. Snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians. These three groups of reptiles evolved comparatively recently (in the Jurassic period), so that even today they share certain anatomical similarities and are all put in the same order.		6,847
			Suborder Lacertilia. Lizards. Lizards are reptiles with a slender body and usually four legs. The most successful of all the reptiles, lizards represent about 54% of reptilian species. Extremely diverse as well, lizards live on every continent except Antarctica, and in nearly every conceivable habitat, from deserts to tundras, mountains to oceans. Familiar examples include chameleons, iguanas, geckos, skinks, monitor lizards, and many more.	4,067	Dinosaur (not techni- cally a lizard)
			Suborder Amphisbaenia. Amphisbaenians, or worm lizards. Worm lizards are unique. Not only are they limbless, like snakes; they are also, among living reptiles, the only specialized burrowers, and live exclusively underground. They inhabit large parts of South America, Africa, Spain, and the Middle East.	133
			Suborder Serpentes. Snakes. Of all the tetrapods that have lost their limbs (including caecilians, sirens, worm-lizards, and a variety of lizards), snakes are by far the most successful. They are exclusively carnivores, and often fearsome predators. Their muscles have adapted for swift movement; their digestive systems allow them to swallow prey whole; and their bodies have adapted to an extremely wide range of environments. They live on every continent except Antarctica.	2,647	Snake
		Order Crocodilia. Crocodilians. Crocodilians include the largest and fiercest of the living reptiles. Living in tropical and subtropical saltwater and freshwater throughout the world, crocodilians are characterized simply by their crocodile-like appearance. Examples include crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gavials.		22

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