Many beautiful reptiles in the world may go overlooked. Today we’re featuring some of the most beautiful animals of the world that are of the reptile species.
Enjoy this list of beautiful reptiles; perhaps one day when traveling you’ll encounter one of these at a zoo or reptile protection facility. Some may even be witnessed in the wild!
Desperate leaf chameleon
This critically endangered reptile is not super cute, but it is ranked among the top reptiles that reptile fans think are beautiful. If you take away their tail, the desperate leaf chameleon only grows to be 3 cm in length.
This is a small reptile and is mostly found in the Madagascar region. Due to the depletion of the forest in this region, the beautiful chameleon is at a critical risk level of becoming endangered.
Madagascar big-headed turtle
You might think you’re in Jurassic Park when you see this large-headed turtle. The shell of this turtle has larger scales to keep its big head protected better. This species has been proven to come from species that lived over 80 million years ago, long before dinosaurs were extinct!
This prehistoric turtle is threatened mostly due to the decrease of its natural habitat in the world.
Chinese crocodile lizard
This adorable reptile looks like a mini version of Godzilla and is indeed endangered. The last time this reptile shared a common ancestry with any other reptile was over 100 million years ago!
The Chinese crocodile lizard is at threat of becoming endangered mostly from the habitat last but also due to the hunting within the international pet trade market.
Roti Island snake-necked turtle
It’s a snake! It’s a turtle! No, it’s actually a snake-necked turtle. This reptile is a bit creepy but it’s among one of the most beautiful reptiles in the world. It’s found in Indonesia on the island of Roti, hence its name.
It’s on the list of one of the most 15 endangered turtles because people hunt the Roti Island snake-necked turtle for its meat.
Gharial
When we look at this reptile, we think that perhaps it was created to be a fictional cartoon character in some game. It’s not a fictional reptile though. The Gharial is one of the most unique crocodiles and alligator species on Earth.
Over 20 million years ago there was a similar species known as the ‘false’ Gharial but this ‘real’ Gharial is still here on Earth. There are less than 250 adults worldwide so scientists are working to preserve this prehistoric reptile the best they can.
These are just some of the beautiful reptiles in the world that are both adorable and creepy in some ways. We hope you enjoyed this list and learned something new about the reptiles of the world.