Indian reptiles

  Indian reptiles mainly inhabit in the numerous rivers, ponds, lakes, swamps or the other water bodies and they include the snakes, crocodiles, tortoise, turtle etc. India is home to numerous reptile species and they constitute 6.2 percent of the total population of reptiles in the world. Out of all the Indian reptiles, about 30 have been listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals (IUCN 2006).

Snake in India
The snakes are one of the most common Indian reptiles. They belong to the order of Squamata or scaled reptiles, which is the largest order of reptiles, including both the lizards and the snakes. Snakes are the carnivorous reptiles that have an acute sense of sight and feel and they are also scaly, limbless and elongate reptiles. The main differences between snakes and lizards are that, the snakes do not have eyelids, external ear openings, and limbs, like the lizards.
The snakes have the poison glands that are actually some modified salivary glands. They secrete poison and it's their principal weapon for capturing prey. The snakes mainly inhabit in paddy fields and open sandy areas and they adapt to the environments in the tropical and temperate regions. Snakes smell the presence of food by their forked tongue and as they do not have external ears, they can only feel vibrations.

Chameleon in India
There is only one species of chameleon that is found in the Indian subcontinent. The scientific name is Chamaeleo zeylanicus. The term 'chameleon' is a combination of two Greek words, 'Chamai', meaning 'on the ground/earth' and Leon, meaning 'lion'. Thus, 'chameleon' means 'earth lion'.
Gharial in India
Gharial is the largest crocodile species in the world. It belongs to the Gavialidae family. Gharial Crocodiles of India do have an elongated and narrow snout, which gradually thins with growing age. There is a bulbous growth on the tip of an adult male's snout, known as 'ghara'.

Mugger Crocodile in India
Mugger crocodile is a member of Crocodylidae Family and is scientifically known as Crocodylus palustris. The colour of adult Mugger crocodiles of India is bright olive, while the young ones are on the paler side. The entire body of this species is spotted with black and scaled. Outer toes as well as fingers are webbed at the base.
Tortoise and Turtle in India
Indian turtle, along with tortoise and terrapin, belongs to the Testudines order of reptiles and the Chelonia crown group. Indian tortoise has both an endoskeleton as well as an exoskeleton. The length of a tortoise differs between a few centimetres and two meters.. The body of a turtle is covered with special bony or cartilaginous shell, which is developed from its ribs. One of the oldest reptile groups, the turtle of India was in existence even before lizards and snakes.
Water Monitor in India
Indian Water Monitor lizard is one of the largest as well as the heaviest form of lizards, second only to the Komodo Monitors. The usual length of a water monitor is around 4 feet. Its entire upper body is full with round and protruding scales and the abdomen is covered with smooth scales.

The 5 Species of Reptiles Found in India

India is extremely rich in flora and fauna, Its remaining dense forests are still a source of diverse wildlife species. These deep forest’s are home for a unique species of reptiles in India.Many of these are protected in National Parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India. More than 408 species of reptiles found in India,which is 6% of the world total. Apart from the snakes, there are several other types of Indian reptiles that inhabit all over the country. The Great Thar desert of India also supports a surprising variety of hardy plants,reptiles,birds and desert wild animals.

Crocodile: The Indian Crocodiles also known as Mugger is one of the three species of Crocodiles found in India. Other species are salt water crocodile and Gharial, Gharial found in most of the rivers in India,including holy River Gange and Brahmaputra, Gharial, the most endangered species of replies in India  is one of the longest of all living crocodilians found in India. Bhitarkanika nationl park is a unique habitat of Mangrove Forests in Orissa and home to largest population of giant salt water crocodile in India.

Turtle: Indian Turtle are found across all over the country,there are seven types of turtle found in India along with Tortoise and Terrapin. The size of turtles are vary according to the habitat,marine turtles are bigger than the land and freshwater turtles. Turtles are one of the oldest reptile of India,they are exist in the world before the crocodile and lizards.

Monitor Lizards: There are four kinds of Monitor Lizards are found in India, Due to the excessive hunting and loss of habitat Indian Monitor Lizard listed as endangered species in India. Indian Water Monitor lizard is the biggest lizard found across the Tamil Nadu and all other parts of South India. In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and all other parts of South India, catching or killing of monitor lizards is banned.

Snakes: India has more then 240 species of snakes,out of 240 only 52 species of snakes are venomous. One of the highlyvenomous snake in India is King Cobra and Indian python are one of the biggest snake found in India. Other big snakes in India are Krait,Indian cobra and Russell’s viper, Parassinkkadavu Snake Park of Kerala is the best destination to know about Indian snakes.

Chameleon: There is only one species of chameleons found in the Indian subcontinent. The Indian Chameleon most interesting features is a extremely long tongue,which may exceed the length of its body. All the chameleons have the ability to change skin color according to the situation. Chameleon survives on diet of crickets and other insects.

 Rare Species of Reptiles in India

India is blessed with an amazing variety flora and fauna,which includes The green rainforests, Thar Desert,wildlife reserves and several national parks. These wildlife sanctuaries are home to number of rare species of wild animals, birds and reptiles such as Nicobar Forest Dragon,flying snakes,Small Thar Desert lizard,Indian Monitor Lizard, the bizzare Two shieldtail snakes and the giant King Cobra. Western ghats of India offer a diverse and unique fauna in the tropical rain forests. one of the most fascinating creatures on our planet are amphibians of the Western Ghats and reptiles which includes The Purple Frog and flying lizards. There are 45 species of reptiles found diverse western ghats, These include 30 species of snakes and 13 species of lizards. Thar Desert of Rajasthan, which is also called as the ‘ocean of sands’ also offers a wide range of reptiles in India such as Spiny-tailed lizard, monitor lizard, saw scaled-viper.

The Gharial:

The gharial is a species of crocodile that lives in the rivers of northern India. Gharials, one of the longest and largest crocodilians species in the world have a very long slender snout with dark olive-gray skin and a pale yellow belly. The critically endangered species thrive in the rivers of the National Chambal Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Holy river Ganges,Son River Sanctuary and the rainforest biome of Mahanadi in India. The fish-eating Indian crocodile is one of the most unique crocodilian in the world.

Flying Lizard:

The India flying lizard is capable of gliding from tree to tree found in the Western Ghats and hill forests of southern India. The Flying Dragon Lizard avoids danger by opening two large, winglike flaps of skin and steers, brakes with its tail. The rare reptiles wings are brightly coloured due to this, also called the butterfly lizard.

Cane Turtle:

The Cochin Forest Cane Turtle also also known as Kavalai forest turtle is a rare species of turtle found in Western Ghats of India. The unique turtle have large head with a truncated snout and inhabits dense evergreen forest, presumably at lower elevations of Cochin Forest. The endemic Cochin Forest Cane Turtle is listed as endangered and rarely found in the pet trade.

Whitaker’s Boa:

The Indian Whitaker’s Sand Boa is a non-venomous species of boa, found in coastal southern India. It has a small head, a cylindrical body and smooth overall appearance with a blunt rounded smooth-scaled tail. The sand snake of India is also a very good climber,found along the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra.

Indian Golden Gecko:

The Indian Golden Gecko is a species of gecko known only from the Tirumala hills in the Eastern Ghats of India. The endangered Golden Gecko is a rare hill species of Geckois and endemic to India. Shri Venkateswara National Park,Andhra Pradesh is famous for very rare slender Lorises and the rare and endangered golden Gecko.

King Cobra:

The beautiful and giant snake king cobra habitat in the rain forest of western ghat and national parks of  Kerala along with somesnake parks. The longest venomous snake, solitary King Cobra lives in rainforests, scrub, and grasslands of India. It is one of themost dangerous and feared Asiatic snake and can deliver a large quantity of venom in a single bite.