Reptile Classification - Types of Reptiles
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Reptile Classification
Today, scientists classify reptiles into four major groups known as "orders." These four reptile orders are as follows:
Crocodilia — crocodiles, gharials, caimans and alligators: 23 species
Sphenodontia — tuataras from New Zealand: 2 species
Squamata — lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids ("worm-lizards"): about 7,900 species
Testudines — turtles and tortoises: approximately 300 species
How This Page is Organized
Reptile classification is a complicated and ever-changing thing (see challenges below). As much as possible, we have tried to organize our website around the four reptile orders listed above. This website is a "living document" that will change as needed to reflect changes / reclassifications in the reptile world. To find a particular species, start with one of the top-level orders and then "drill down" through the categories and pages that follow.
Help Us by Writing a Reptile Species Page!
You will notice many of the reptile species below are not hyperlinked. That is because, as of now, we do not have a species profile for that particular reptile. Over time, we will have profile pages for every reptile on this list. And you can help us achieve this goal. Learn more about the mutual benefits of our guest author program .
Crocodilia — Crocodiles, Alligators, Gharials & Caimans
The crocodilia order of reptiles includes crocodiles, gharials, caimans and alligators. The range of this species includes North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Currently, there are 23 known species within this order of reptiles.
Species within the Crocodylia order of reptiles include:
Alligators: American Alligator | Chinese Alligator
Caimans
Spider Tortoises
The Challenges of Reptile Classification
Reptiles can be quite challenging to classify. There are two main reasons for this — scientific disagreement and scientific advancement. Actually, these two things are closely related, as they pertain to reptile classification and species names.
As our knowledge of the natural world evolves and becomes more sophisticated, it affects the way we look at taxonomy and classification of species. For example, we used to classify snakes into a handful of families. Now there are 18 recognized families of snakes on the planet.
But it's important to understand that it's not the reptiles that have changed (not in our lifetimes, anyway) but merely the way we look at them. Case in point — you can call the Bothrops asper a fer-de-lance, a lancehead, a Central American lancehead, or a terciopelo ... but it's still the same snake.
With all of that being said, you can rest assured that we will keep this website (and the way it defines reptile classification in general) as current as possible, even if that means I have to reorganize web pages once a year.