What are reptiles?

Reptiles are characterized by dry scaly skin. In many of the species, legs are joined with hips on the sides of the body. Therefore, they must crawl or use a belly-slide gait. However, some lizards can run on their hind limbs.  Snakes have no limbs.

As for marine species, the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) and leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) are typical for the Province of Málaga, as well as the Spanish or Mediterranean pond turtle (Mauremys leprosa) and the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), which live in Epicontinental or inland sea. The Andalusian wall lizard (Podarcis vaucheri) and the Spiny-footed Lizard (Acanthodactylus erythurus) are the most common small lizards. As for the rest of lizards, we can find the common chameleon or Mediterranean chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) and the ocellated lizard or jewelled lizard (Timon lepidus). Most common snake is Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus).

Distribution and Habitat

Reptiles live in many different ecosystems. In the Province of Málaga, they can be found in the sea like sea turtles, and at an altitude of up to 1,500 m like Andalusian wall lizards.

How They Live

Reptiles are ectotherms, or cold-blooded animals — that is any animal whose regulation of body temperature depends on external sources, above all on sun or hot surfaces. During cold seasons, a lot of these species hibernate. This ability to regulate body temperature with external sources. in stead of using the energy created by their own metabolism like mammals, allows them to depend less on food supply and adapt better to the periods of lack of food. Moreover, they can endure in warm or dry weather better than mammals. Sea turtles are special because some of them, like leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) produce energy thanks to their muscles, which explains their ability to migrate to high-latitude areas.
Most reptiles have internal fertilization. Turtles have a penis, and small lizards, lizards and snakes have two functional hemipenes. The species in the province of Málaga usually do not watch over their eggs.

Ecological Importance

Thanks to their physiological features, reptiles are spread out and common in ground or marine ecosystems. Today, when the Earth is changing and getting warmer, there are new possible habitats for this group of animals, as they might start living at higher altitudes in the mountains and higher-latitude areas, which they could not inhabit before due to low temperatures.