Testudines:
- Otherwise known as turtles
- Have a hard outer shell that covers and protects their bodies that can also be used for camouflage
- First appeared over 200 million years ago and are the oldest of the reptiles
- Live on land as well as in freshwater and saltwater habitats
Squamata:
- There are over 7,600 species of Squamates alive today
- Most diverse of the reptiles
- Include lizards, snakes, and worm-lizards
- Were found to have lived over 145 million years ago, in the Jurassic Period
- Have jointed jaws, allowing them to more easily capture prey that is bigger than them and they shed their skin periodically.
- Squamates are located on land, typically in desert areas
Crocodilia:
(Reptiles)
- Crocodilia includes; alligators, crocodiles, gharials, and caimans
- Crocodilia are the closest relative to birds
- Crocodilia were discover to have existed around 85 million years ago, in the Cretaceous Period.
- They generally live on land, though some hunt for prey in the water.
(Reptiles)
Sphenodontia:
(Reptiles)
- Tuataras are reptiles that are not unlike the Squamata and are lizard-like in appearance, though they do not have jointed skulls like Squamates do.
- They are almost extinct in that only 2 species remain and they are restricted to only a few islands in New Zealand.
- They were once very widespread about 190 million years ago, in the early Jurassic Period.
(Reptiles)