Race of Life - Reptiles Episode 8
Crocodiles, like all living reptiles, are descended from animals that roamed the Earth about 250 million years ago. There’s something so viscerally terrifying about these creatures that lay in wait for their prey, just under the waterline. The comparatively friendly seeming turtle is among the most ancient of the reptiles alive today and has a protective shell that encloses their body and provides protection and camouflage, just as it did millions of years back. They inhabit terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats and are found both in tropical and temperate regions. Poisonous or harmless, large or small, all snakes - from the desert rattlesnake to the dwarf pipe snake - have certain things in common: a long, thin shape; scaly, legless bodies; and unblinking, lidless eyes. Like all reptiles, snakes rely on the heat of the sun to control their body temperature. The venom of the king cobra, the world's largest poisonous snake, is strong enough to kill an elephant. Lizards have developed their own adaptations – some lose their tail when in danger, as a means of escaping from a predator. In time the tail will grow back again. The tail they leave behind will move and confuse the predator. What grows back will be slimmer and often a different color. For all these creatures, cold blood is definitely a competitive edge.
Crocodiles, like all living reptiles, are descended from animals that roamed the Earth about 250 million years ago. There’s something so viscerally terrifying about these creatures that lay in wait for their prey, just under the waterline. The comparatively friendly seeming turtle is among the most ancient of the reptiles alive today and has a protective shell that encloses their body and provides protection and camouflage, just as it did millions of years back. They inhabit terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats and are found both in tropical and temperate regions. Poisonous or harmless, large or small, all snakes - from the desert rattlesnake to the dwarf pipe snake - have certain things in common: a long, thin shape; scaly, legless bodies; and unblinking, lidless eyes. Like all reptiles, snakes rely on the heat of the sun to control their body temperature. The venom of the king cobra, the world's largest poisonous snake, is strong enough to kill an elephant. Lizards have developed their own adaptations – some lose their tail when in danger, as a means of escaping from a predator. In time the tail will grow back again. The tail they leave behind will move and confuse the predator. What grows back will be slimmer and often a different color. For all these creatures, cold blood is definitely a competitive edge.
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