the.com/squamata
the planet's largest reptile order, all scales and zero apologies, slithering through 11,000 species
means Squamata is the order of scaled reptiles—snakes, lizards, and the worm-like amphisbaenians—distinguished by overlapping skin scales and jaws that often unhinge for oversized meals.
from From Latin squamatus, 'scaly,' from squama, 'a scale' (the kind on a fish or reptile, and the same root behind 'squamous' skin cells). The name was formalized as a scientific order in the 19th century, when naturalists were busy carving the reptile world into tidy Latin boxes—and the defining feature, plainly, was scales.
- member count
- Over 11,000 species and still counting
- includes
- All snakes and lizards on Earth
- jaw trick
- Skulls hinge open to swallow giants whole
- virgin births
- Some females reproduce without any males
- name origin
- Latin for scaled, blunt and accurate