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.