25 Strange Reptiles You Haven't Heard Of (Maybe)

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:01]Nature documentaries often tend to cover the same set of popular animals. Large and charismatic creatures that are mostly wellknown, but with millions of species on Earth, there are plenty of strange animals that many of us have never heard of before. I've covered a lot of animals in this series so far, but in this video, we're looking at 25 species of a reptile that most of us have never heard of before.

[00:00:30]Natalia's mountain horned lizard, also known as the Zali pricklnape, is both rare and impressive. It has a distinctive appearance with sharp hornlike projections above the eyes and a spiny crest running down its back.

[00:00:46]Despite this, it was only described in 2006.

[00:00:50]Partly because it has a very small range in Vietnam's central highlands, and partly because it spends most of its time sitting motionless in trees, waiting for its prey to pass by. The species appears in a variety of colors from deep green to bright orange and red. While one might think this lizard would stand out in nature, it's actually surprisingly well camouflaged.

[00:01:15]Natalyia's mountainhorned lizard is rarely observed and it's still one of the most poorly understood lizard species in the region.

[00:01:24]Chameleons are incredibly wellknown, but there are over 200 species and some of the least known are also among the smallest. The ants singing leaf chameleon only reaches about 10 cm long, but it still has a fearsome appearance.

[00:01:41]They're heavily armored, being covered in rows of sharp platelike scales and spines. They're found only in a tiny area of dry deciduous forest in western Madagascar, where they spend most of their time on the forest floor, hiding among dead leaves, relying on their shape and color for camouflage. As photos of these chameleons began to spread online in the early 2000s, demand for the lizards grew in the pet trade.

[00:02:08]They became highly sought after and in a very short time overcollection from the wild led to a sharp decline in the population. Thankfully the species is protected today but ongoing habitat loss and degradation means that these chameleons are still considered endangered.

[00:02:28]The Jarka riverle leaf chameleon is closely related but even smaller. They don't surpass 6 cm in total length and can be found living in mossy forests at higher elevations in northeastern Madagascar. They rely on their texture and color to blend in with moss and damp forest debris. They also spend most of their time low to the ground, remaining motionless to avoid detection and to be able to ambush prey. Thankfully, they've never really been kept as pets, but still, habitat loss means that they're listed as vulnerable to extinction.

[00:03:05]The Ispanol Chameleon anol is one of the largest anolles ever discovered, and for years, it was known only from brief, almost accidental encounters. The first recorded sighting was in 2005 by biologist Miguel Landistoy, who briefly saw one of these huge lizards while he was leading a bird watching tour. It wasn't until 2007 that he saw it again, this time managing to capture a photo of it. Its unusually large size being as much as 32 cm in total length as well as its distinctive ashy pale coloration made it clear that it was different from any other known species. Continued searches eventually confirmed that it was unknown to science and it was formally described only in 2016. It remains extremely rare, known only from a handful of localities in the threatened dense forest habitats on the island of Espanola.

[00:04:05]The Kurdistan oscillated lizard is a large and striking species found across parts of Iran, Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. They're very distinctive. Males have dark heads, reddish throats, and bright blue and green eyelike spots scattered across their bodies. They're among the largest wall lizards in the world, reaching as much as 60 cm from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail. They live in rocky oak forests and open woodland in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, a region that has come under significant human pressure.

[00:04:42]Forests in the region are regularly cut down for fuel and land use, putting the Kurdistan oscillated lizard at increasing risk.

[00:04:52]The green thorny tail iguana is a small but striking species found in the forests of the Guana shield. It has a bright green body with bold black bands and in some individuals hints of blue along the tail and flanks. It's these flashes of blue that are reflected in the species scientific name, Uraentron Azurium.

[00:05:15]Unlike most iguanids, it feeds primarily on ants, making it highly specialized and therefore difficult to keep in captivity. It spends much of its life clinging to vertical tree trunks high above the ground, which makes it difficult to encounter and rarely seen.

[00:05:33]There are three recognized subspecies, each with slightly different coloration, and some suggest that these could actually represent three separate species, though for now their taxonomy still isn't fully worked out.

[00:05:49]Galawasps as a whole are relatively unknown. These lizards have long bodies and relatively small limbs, giving them a slightly snake- like appearance. And one species that really stands out is the Brazilian galli wasp. These lizards have an incredible coloration with bold black and white bands running across their bodies. Sometimes they're more black. Other times they can be more white. And adults can develop a bright red underside along with a head that can turn almost yellow. This high contrast pattern makes it one of the most visually striking lizard species in its range. Despite that, they spend much of their time hidden out of sight in the leaf litter on the forest floor.

[00:06:34]In 2014, a new species of lizard was described from Manu National Park near Cusco, Peru. Males of the Peruvian stream lizard have a fascinating coloration with bright red eye patches, a blue throat and chest, bright red bellies, and a series of yellow or orange spots running down each side.

[00:06:55]Their backs are covered in rough keeled scales. And what makes this species of lizard really interesting is the fact that it's semiacquatic.

[00:07:05]They live alongside fastmoving forest streams and rivers. And when threatened, they quickly disappear into the current, allowing them to make a speedy escape in the water.

[00:07:17]Monitor lizards are usually large, powerful reptiles. In fact, the largest lizard in the world is a species of monitor. But the Dampier Peninsula monitor breaks this pattern completely.

[00:07:30]Also described in 2014, it's one of the smallest monitor lizards in the world, reaching only about 20 to 25 cm in total length. While most monitor lizards have very long, slender tails, the dampier peninsula monitor has a relatively short and fat tail that's actually semi prehensile.

[00:07:52]They only live in a small area of Western Australia where they can be found among rocky outcrops and crevices.

[00:07:59]It's thanks in part to their tiny size that they managed to go unnoticed until so recently.

[00:08:05]The barking gecko is a small desert species from southern Africa that doesn't quite look like your typical gecko. It has a shorter snout and more rounded head. And it has an expression that makes it look almost permanently irritated.

[00:08:21]Barking geckos are kpuscular, meaning they're most active at dawn and dusk.

[00:08:26]Males position themselves at the entrances of their burrows and begin calling. These calls are used to defend territory and to attract mates, and they can carry surprisingly far across the open desert. Despite the fact that they're commonly heard, they're not seen nearly as often as they spend most of their lives hidden in burrows beneath the sand.

[00:08:50]Day geckos are very wellknown with most being bright green, highly visible, and even appearing as the mascot for the American insurance company Geico. But in 1993, a species was discovered in Madagascar that was very different.

[00:09:07]Rather than relying on bright colors, the Masawala day gecko has a far more muted appearance that it uses for camouflage on tree trunks. After its discovery, it seemed to disappear. And for nearly 20 years, it was known from just four museum specimens. It wasn't until 2011 that it was finally rediscovered, confirming that it was still out there, but just barely holding on. Even now, it remains exceptionally rare with a tiny range and ongoing threats, leaving it classified as critically endangered.

[00:09:45]Geckos have some of the most recognizable silhouettes among any reptile. But there are quite a few species that are so different you might not even recognize them as lizards, let alone geckos. There are several legless varieties of gecko, one of which is the pink-tailed worm lizard. They live in southeastern Australia, and as the name suggests, they look far more like a worm than a lizard. Not only are they partially pink, but they also live almost entirely underground, sheltering beneath rocks that sit on top of ant nests where they feed on the ants and their larae. This close relationship with ant colonies makes it highly dependent on very specific conditions, and it disappears quickly if those rocks are disturbed or removed. As a result, habitat loss and land use changes have made this species incredibly rare, and it's now considered endangered.

[00:10:45]Another odd legless gecko species is the New Guinea snake lizard. They have an unusually long, narrow head that gives them a distinctly snake- like appearance. Despite the fact that they're legless, they're active predators that specialize in hunting other lizards, especially skinks. They use a rapid sideways strike to seize their prey. Then they use their incredibly flexible jaws to swallow this surprisingly large prey whole, a feeding style that's more typical of snakes than geckos.

[00:11:21]Glass lizards similarly are legless making them often confused for snakes.

[00:11:27]Most species come in a variety of muted tans, browns, and blacks. But the Asian glass lizard is extremely colorful. It has a bright orange body, yellow belly, and can often have striking blue markings on its back that make it look completely different from other members of the group. Amazingly, about 60 to 70% of its total length is actually its tail. And when threatened, it can drop its tail off in order to distract a potential predator while it escapes.

[00:12:00]Speaking of surprisingly colorful species, the red-headed crate is one of the most striking snakes in Southeast Asia. They have a jet black body that's sharply contrasted by a bright red head and tail. Despite their bold appearance, they're a secretive and mostly nocturnal species that spend much of their time hidden. They have a specialized diet, feeding primarily on other snakes, which they take down using a powerful neurotoxic venom. A venom that's strong enough to kill a person, though that happens very rarely.

[00:12:36]Most large species of snake were scientifically described long ago. But in 1993, one of the world's largest species of pit viper was discovered in China. And it's among the most interesting species in the world. The mangin pit viper can be over 2 m long, weigh up to 5 kg, and has spectacular coloration. They're modeled with dark and light green, which allows them to blend in with the moss and lychans found on the logs where they sit, waiting for their prey. But they're not purely passive ambush predators. In fact, the tip of their tail is white and is used as a lure. By wiggling it around, small animals think it's a grub. And when they approach to eat it, they get snapped up.

[00:13:25]It's extremely rare, inhabiting only a small area of around 300 square kilometers, and their population has continued to decline, leading to them being classified as endangered.

[00:13:39]Of course, not all species use venom to catch prey. Pythons and boas use constriction, and one of the stranger, lesserk known python species is the calibar python. It can be found in West and Central Africa, and it's small compared to other python species, only reaching about 1 meter at most. This species burrows into the ground using its blunt, rounded head. And when under threat, it has an interesting defense tactic. These snakes will coil into a ball and hide their heads, but leave their blunt tails out in an obvious position. The tail has a similar shape to their heads, and it confuses predators, causing them to attack the wrong end of the snake. The Arabian Peninsula is also home to a blunt-tailed species of burrowing constrictor, the Arabian sandboa. It's even smaller, rarely growing longer than about 40 cm, and it spends much of its time buried in loose sand. Because it prefers to remain completely hidden, its eyes are actually positioned on the top of its head. This allows it to peer out from the sand as it waits for a passing lizard to eat.

[00:14:55]Almost all boas give birth to live young. But the Arabian sandboa is one of only two boa species in the world known to lay eggs instead.

[00:15:06]In the forest of Southeast Asia lives what might be the most adorable snake in the world. the bluntheaded slug snake.

[00:15:15]With its small, rounded head and huge eyes, it looks more like a cartoon character than a snake. They're nonvenenomous and hunt slugs and snails.

[00:15:26]They're able to remove snails from their shells using their rounded heads and an asymmetrical jaw designed specifically for this purpose. When threatened, they're known to feain death, turning onto their backs and remaining motionless until the threat moves on.

[00:15:43]Also cute and with a very similar name is the bluntheaded tree snake of tropical North and South America. It's also slender, has huge eyes and a rounded head. But unlike the bluntheaded slug snake, the bluntheaded tree snake is mildly venomous, capable of taking down faster prey like frogs and lizards.

[00:16:06]They use slow, careful movements, approaching their prey as it sleeps or rests. But they don't only capture live prey. These snakes have been documented eating reptile and amphibian eggs as well.

[00:16:22]Another snake with a strange head is the African shovelnose snake, but rather than being oddly rounded, it has an elongated, flattened shovel-shaped snout. This is a crucial adaptation as this species burrows through the soil in subsaharan Africa where it lives.

[00:16:40]Despite being nonvenenomous, it has a surprisingly dramatic defense display.

[00:16:45]When threatened, it can flatten its body, hiss loudly, and strike repeatedly to scare off predators. A bold act for a harmless, nonvenenomous snake species.

[00:16:58]Subsaharan Africa is home to another species of snake with a strange snout.

[00:17:02]Schlaggel's beaked blind snake. This small burrowing species looks far more like a worm than any typical snake, having a blunt snout and tail. But its most distinctive feature is its strange snout, which it uses to push through the soil. It has extremely reduced eyes that are barely visible, but they're not really needed as this species spends almost its entire life underground feeding on ants and termites.

[00:17:32]Finding a turtle species for this list that many people wouldn't have heard of and would be surprised by wasn't particularly easy. Most turtles follow the same pattern and have a very limited range of colors, but the spiny turtle might be one species that you haven't heard of, and it's certainly one of the most unusual turtles in the world.

[00:17:53]They're found in Southeast Asia, and as juveniles, their shells are covered in sharp spiky projections.

[00:18:00]Because these turtles spend much of their time on land rather than in water, these spines likely help protect them from predators by making them more difficult to swallow. As they grow older, the spikes gradually wear down and the shell becomes much smoother.

[00:18:17]There are only four groups of reptiles that people instantly recognize.

[00:18:21]Lizards, snakes, turtles, and crocodilians. But there exists another group that hardly anyone ever talks about, the amphysisians.

[00:18:32]One of the most widespread examples is the red worm lizard. This burrowing reptile is found in South America, and it can grow surprisingly large, sometimes reaching 80 cm in length. Its thick ringed body and pink orange color make it seem like a cross between a lizard, a snake, and a worm. It spends nearly its entire life underground where it can move both forward and backward through its tunnels. Because of how secretive it is, surprisingly little is known about its ecology.

[00:19:06]An even more striking species of Memphis is the checkerboard worm lizard. It can be found living in the northernmost parts of South America where it lives a similar lifestyle to the red worm lizard. It also has a long ringed body and spends most of its life underground.

[00:19:23]But what makes it stand out is the bold black and white or black and pink checkerboard pattern that runs across the entirety of its body. This striking coloration is rarely seen in subterranean animals. How it developed and what its purpose really is remain essentially unknown.

[00:19:46]And that's it for this week's video.

[00:19:48]Which of these species surprised you the most? And what group of animals do you want me to cover next? I need to say a special thanks to my patrons and YouTube members. Without their ongoing support, I wouldn't be able to make a video like this every week. If you want to support the channel, consider joining us on Patreon. The link is in the video description below. or you can become a member right here on YouTube by hitting the join button below the video. Members also get early access to videos as well as exclusive perks like special badges and custom emojis to use in the comments. Your support helps me to keep making the best content that I can.

[00:20:27]Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.