Lizards first appeared approximately 200 million years ago, evolving alongside the dinosaurs.

The fast speed of the basilisk allows it to run on the surface of the water.

The Komodo lizard is the world's largest lizard and can weigh up to 365lb. (165.6kg).

Although most lizards travel on all four legs, some prefer to use only two legs because it gives them greater speed.

The tuataras are called "living fossils" because their closest relative died out millions of years ago.

There are about 4,000 species , or kind of lizards in the world.

The word reptile covers a number of animals, In a group named "reptiles" there are lizards, snakes, turtles, tortoises, crocodiles and alligators.

The Australian thorny devil (lizard) only eats 1 species of ant and can eat as many as 2,500 ants at a time.

Lizards such as water dragons, are great swimmers and can hold their breath underwater for up to 30 minutes.

In Australia monitors are called goannas (go-ann-uhs). They are not all large in size. One of the insect-eating goanna's is only 20 centimetres long and it is not as fierce as other goannas.

Lizards range in size from 2.5 centimetre geckos up to 3 metre Komodo dragons.

Snakes don't have eyelids, they have a single scale covering their eyes.

Snake sizes vary from 0.9 metres long up to anaconda that can grow to be over 7.9 metres long.

Not all snakes are venomous. There are approximately 250 species out of 3,000 species of snakes that are venomous, this is less then 10 percent of all snakes. Out of the 250 venomous snake species, only about 50 of these have venom that is dangerous to people. Still, venomous snakes kill around 100,000 people a year.

A turtles shell grows from its backbone and cannot climb out of its shell nor can it live without its shell. Turtles and tortoises are the only reptiles that have a shell built into their skeleton.

Turtles don't have teeth, but instead have hard bony jaw ridges that are serrated and sharp on their upper and lower jaws.

Sea turtles drink salt water then squeeze out the extra salt through special tear glands.

Common box male turtles have red or orange eyes. Females have brown eyes.

Turtles have no ear openings, they have a round eardrum just below the skin on the head.

All turtles lay eggs. Some have a hard shell, some have a tough shell.

Some eggs are round approximately the size of a Ping-Pong ball, others are shaped more like a large bean.

Snake-necked turtles necks can be as long as 30 centimetre's. The long neck enables them to draw breath at the surface without exposing the rest of the body to predators.

The inside of a sea turtle's nose swells when it is underwater. This closes off the nose so water does not get in.

Giant tortoises are some of the longest living animals on earth and can live to be 150 years old.

The smallest of all the tortoises is the speckles tortoise. It is not quite 10 centimetres fully grown.

Turtles can live as long as 15 years, the bigger the turtle the longer it can live.

Turtles shed their shell as they're growing; this skin resembles a burnt leaf.

The largest turtle in the world is the Leathery Turtle whose shell is up to 2.4 metres long and can weigh up to 860 kg.

Turtles and tortoises are the oldest forms of reptiles alive today and have changed very little in their 200 million year history.

Tortoises are related to the Turtle family. They live on land, have elephantine legs and eat vegetation.

You can tell the difference between a male and a female turtle by the length of their tail and the shape of the back of their shell. Males have a longer tail while females are generally bigger.

Some turtles can breath underwater through their bottoms, especially during hibernation.

One of the most unusual turtles is from North and Central America and called the Alligator Turtle (or Snapping Turtle). It has shield-like scales, similar to an alligator, and a special tongue that moves like a worm underwater. Any unsuspecting fish trying to eat ‘the worm’ will become the turtle's next dinner.

There are more then one million species of insects known today.

It is believed that there are still more then a thousand undiscovered species of insects in tropical rain forests around the world.

Insects are the major food source of many species of birds, fishes, amphibians and mammals.

An average locust swarm may contain 50 billion individuals and can eat four times as much food, in a day, as the human population of New York.