Looking at Reptiles
Reptiles are vertebrates (ver-ta-brits), meaning they have a backbone, and are cold-blooded. Some examples of reptiles are lizards, snakes, as well as larger animals like alligators and crocodiles. Lizards and snakes have scales on their bodies like
fish. Each scale is like a tiny little piece of armor, which overlap each other to cover the animals body and protect it. Reptiles breathe with lungs the same way people do, but not always in the same way. Some reptiles can only breathe when they are holding still, so they have to hold their breath when they run!
Most people don't realize it, but another type of reptile is the turtle. Turtles are not
amphibians, even though they can spend a long time under water. Turtles have hard shells that protect their insides. If a turtle feels like there is danger near, it can pull it's head, arms, and legs inside its shell. Reptiles are some of the oldest types of animals on the planet, considered to be very closely related to the dinosaurs that walked the earth 65 million years ago.
