aboma

From Sranan Tongo aboma, from Fanti Akan aboma (“large constricting snake”), perhaps via French aboma.

Any of the large South American serpents from the genus Boa or related genera.

боа-удушвач

any of several large South American serpents


ask

From Middle English asken (also esken, aschen, eschen, etc.), from Old English āscian, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- (“to wish; request”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian aaskje (“to ask, demand, require”), West Frisian easkje (“to ask, demand, require”), Dutch eisen (“to demand, require”), German heischen (“to ask, request, implore”), Russian иска́ть (iskátʹ), Sanskrit इच्छति (iccháti) (whence Hindi ईछना (īchnā).

cog

African-American Vernacular, Cajun, Nigeria, proscribed

ax

alternative pronunciation until about 1600, now dialectal and no longer standard


web-footed gecko

en-noun

web-footed gecko (plural web-footed geckos)

A type of gecko, Palmatogecko rangei, from Namibia and adjacent areas, having broad, webbed feet


sidewinder

From side + winder (“one who winds or wends, traveller”), from the sideways, looping manner in which they move.

compound

A North American rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes, that inhabits lowland deserts.


tortoise

From Middle English tortuse, tortuce, tortuge, from Medieval Latin tortuca, of uncertain origin. May be from Late Latin tartarūcha, from tartarūchus, from Ancient Greek ταρταροῦχος (tartaroûkhos, “holder of Tartaros, Tartarus, the land of the dead in ancient stories”), because it used to be thought that tortoises and turtles came from the underworld and they were commonly paired with such infernal beasts; see Τάρταρος (Tártaros). Or, from Latin tortus (“twisted”). The French-looking Modern English spelling tortoise may be influenced by porpoise. Displaced native Old English byrdling.

der

Any of various land-dwelling reptiles, of the family Testudinidae (chiefly Canada, US) or the order Testudines (chiefly UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, India), whose body is enclosed in a shell (carapace plus plastron). The animal can withdraw its head and four legs partially into the shell, providing some protection from predators.


snake

→ Maori: neke

→ Sranan Tongo: sneki

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Snake.wav

From Middle English snake, from Old English snaca (“snake, serpent, reptile”), from Proto-West Germanic *snakō (“snake”) (compare German Low German Snake, Snaak (“snake”), dialectal German Schnake (“adder”), Swedish snok (“grass snake”), Icelandic snákur (“snake”)), derived via Proto-Germanic *snakô from Proto-Germanic *snakaną (“to crawl”) (compare Old High German snahhan), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neg- (“to crawl; a creeping thing”). Cognate with Sanskrit नाग (nāgá, “snake”)). Doublet of nāga.

der

(cartomancy) The seventh Lenormand card.

The snake failed to provide an anchor for currency stability and, through it, disinflation.

2001, W. Bonefeld, The Politics of Europe: Monetary Union and Class, page 69:

snake in the tunnel
snake in the tunnel#English

(finance, historical) Short for snake in the tunnel.


snake

en-verb

snake (third-person singular simple present snakes, present participle snaking, simple past and past participle snaked)

snakes (present singular third-person)
snaking (participle present)
snaked (participle past)
snaked (past)

(transitive) To clean using a plumbing snake.


alligator

Alligator Alley
Alligator Pond
alligator

]
From early Modern English alligater, alligarta, aligarto, alegarto, alagarto, from Spanish el lagarto (“the lizard”), from Latin lacertus (“lizard”), modern spelling possibly influenced by the unrelated Latin alligator (“one who binds”).

(Nigeria) A dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis)


turtle

Modification of Middle English tortou, tortu, from Old French tortüe (under the influence of Middle English turtel, turtur (“turtledove”), see Etymology 2 below), from Medieval Latin tortuca (compare Spanish tortuga), the same source of tortoise (see there for more). Displaced native Old English byrdling.

(zoology, US, Canada) Any land or marine reptile of the order Testudines, characterised by a protective shell enclosing its body. See also tortoise.


massasauga

/ˌmasəˈsɔːɡə/

/ˌmæsəˈsɔɡə/

Possibly from the Mississagi River (Ontario, Canada), from French Mississague, Missisague (also Oumisagai, Michisaguek), from Ojibwe misiza:gi: (“inhabitant of the great river mouth, that is, the Mississagi River”). Doublet of Mississauga.

der

I hope in this paper to contribute something to the knowledge of the Prairie Rattlesnake, or Massasauga (Caudisona tergemina).

1887 March, “The Massasauga and Its Habits”, in The American Naturalist, volume XXI, number 3, Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 212:

The Massasauga is emphatically a species of the prairies and their swamps and marshes.

1895, Leonhard [Hess] Stejneger, “The Massasauga. Sistrurus catenatus, (Rafinesque).”, in The Poisonous Snakes of North America. … From the Report of the U.S. National Museum for 1893, pages 337–487. With plates 1–19, and figures 1–70, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 414:

According to the zoologist, the massasaugas were found abroad from mid-April to late October, chiefly during the daylight hours and for an average 197 days annually during the study period.

2010, John E. Werler, James R[ay] Dixon, “Western Massasauga”, in Texas Snakes: Identification, Distribution, and Natural History, Austin, Tx.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 407, column 1:

The rattlesnake Sistrurus catenatus (formerly Crotalinus catenatus) in the family Viperidae, found in three subspecies.


T. rex

Juvenile T. rexes were light and agile before they leveled up into the adults we’re more familiar with. (The physical discrepancies between younger and older T. rexes can be so vast that experts have argued over whether certain specimens are different species altogether, rather than different ages.)

2021 February 25, Cara Giaimo, “The Outsized Influence of Teen T. Rex and Other Young Dinosaurs”, in The New York Times:

Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus rex#English


spitting cobra

Any of various cobras of the genus Naja that can spit venom.


serpent

From Middle English serpent, from Old French serpent (“snake, serpent”), from Latin serpēns (“snake”), present active participle of serpere (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Italic *serpō, from Proto-Indo-European *serp-. In this sense, displaced native Old English nǣdre (“snake, serpent”), whence Modern English adder.
Compare Sanskrit सर्प (sarpa, “snake”), which is a descendant of the same Proto-Indo-European word as serpent.

(music) An obsolete wind instrument in the brass family, whose shape is suggestive of a snake (Wikipedia article).


reptile

From Middle English reptil, from Old French reptile, from Late Latin rēptile, neuter of reptilis (“creeping”), from Latin rēpō (“to creep”), from Proto-Indo-European *rep- (“to creep, slink”) (Pokorny; Watkins, 1969).

(strictly) A cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia; an amniote that is neither a synapsid nor a bird; excludes amphibians.


cobra

Borrowed from Portuguese cobra, from Latin colubra (“female snake”).

In the pools, too, was a species of small alligator or enormous iguana, I do not know which, that fed, Billali told me, upon the waterfowl, also large quantities of a hideous black water-snake, of which the bite is very dangerous, though not, I gathered, so deadly as a cobra's or a puff adder's.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

Any of various venomous snakes of the family Elapidae.


crocodile

→ Maori: kokorotaera, karakotaera

→ Niuean: kirokotaili

→ Tokelauan: kolokotaila

→ Tongan: kalokataile

→ Welsh: crocodeil

From Middle English cocodrill, cokadrill, cokedril, from Old French cocodril (modern French crocodile), from Medieval Latin cocodrillus, from Latin crocodilus, from Ancient Greek κροκόδειλος (krokódeilos). The word was later refashioned after the Latin and Greek forms. Doublet of krokodil and sugar.

[ˈkʰɹɑkədaɪɫ]

Industrial and rural expansion is shrinking and destroying the Nile crocodile's natural habitat. The Nile crocodiles, in particular, have been a source of highly durable leather for a variety of products which can be crafted and manufactured.

2005, Mwelwa Musambachime, Basic Facts on Zambia, page 97:

Two species of crocodile inhabit Australian waterways: (a) the saltwater Crocodile — Crocodylus porosus, and (b) the freshwater crocodile — Crocodylus johnstoni.

2008, Walkter B. Wood, “Chapter 16: Forensic Identification in Fatal Crocodile Attacks”, in Marc Oxenham, editor, Forensic Approaches to Death, Disaster and Abuse, page 244:

One contained some brightly-coloured tropical birds, one a python and the other a large and very lively crocodile.
I told the customer that the boxes containing the crocodile and the python were not packed to my satisfaction, as there were not enough nails securing them.

2011, Sam Thaker, The Crocodile's Teeth, page 31:

Any of the predatory amphibious reptiles of the family Crocodylidae; (loosely) a crocodilian, any species of the order Crocodilia, which also includes the alligators, caimans and gavials.

Sometimes the kids from the slap-up boys' schools in Eastbourne used to be led round in crocodiles to hand out fags and peppermint creams to the 'wounded Tommies', as they called us.

1939, George Orwell, Coming Up for Air, part 2, chapter 8:

A long line or procession of people (especially children) walking together.

We have seen syllogisms, crocodiles, enthymemas, sorites, &c. explained and tried upon a boy of nine or ten years old in playful conversation[…]

1798, Maria Edgeworth, Practical Education:

(logic) A fallacious dilemma, mythically supposed to have been first used by a crocodile.


crocodile

en-verb

crocodile (third-person singular simple present crocodiles, present participle crocodiling, simple past and past participle crocodiled)

crocodiles (present singular third-person)
crocodiling (participle present)
crocodiled (participle past)
crocodiled (past)

Derived from the noun as a calque of Esperanto krokodili.

[ˈkʰɹɑkədaɪɫ]

(intransitive, slang) To speak another language than Esperanto at an Esperanto-language gathering.

krokodili

to speak another language rather than Esperanto


lizard

From Middle English lesarde, lisarde, from Anglo-Norman lusard, from Old French lesard (compare French lézard), from Latin lacertus, which is of obscure origin. Displaced native Middle English aske, from Old English āþexe (> modern English ask, askard).

lounge lizard; lot lizard; beach lizard; truck stop lizard

(in compounds) A person who idly spends time in a specified place, especially a promiscuous female.


diamondback

Crotalus atrox
Crotalus atrox#Translingual

(common name) Either of two species of rattlesnake having a diamond pattern on the back: Crotalus adamanteus, found in the southeastern United States, and Crotalus atrox, found in the southwestern United States and northwestern and central Mexico.

диамантена гърмяща змия

rattlesnake with diamond pattern on its back


anaconda

/ˌænəˈkɒndə/

From New Latin anacandaia (“python”) [originally referring to a species of constrictor found in Sri Lanka, from Sinhalese හෙනකඳයා (henakaⁿdayā, “whip snake”), from හෙන (hena, “lightning, thunderbolt”) + කඳ (kaⁿda, “stem, trunk, body”) or from Tamil ஆனைக்கொன்றான் (āṉaikkoṉṟāṉ, “having killed an elephant”), from ஆனை (āṉai, “elephant”) + கொன்றான் (koṉṟāṉ, “having killed”).

der

ஆனைக்கொன்றான்

Any of various large nonvenomous snakes of the genus Eunectes, found mainly in northern South America. [from 19th c.]

أَنَاكُنْدَة

any of various large nonvenomous snake of the genus Eunectes

(in particular) The green anaconda; Eunectes murinus.

My anaconda don't want none / Unless you got buns, hon

1992, Sir Mix-a-Lot, "Baby Got Back", Mack Daddy

Womack went into the bedroom and checked on his two boys. When I headed to the bathroom to drain my anaconda, I caught a profile of him standing in the doorway, smiling down on the little rascals.

2000, Eric Jerome Dickey, Liar's Game, Signet, published 2002, →ISBN:

I have chased after white women to find they only wanted to dance with my anaconda and weren't interested in me as a partner.

2006, Christopher Darrick Odom, Visa Versa: Black Men Suffer in the Dating Game Too!, iUniverse, →ISBN, page xi:

(by extension, slang, vulgar) A large penis.


anaconda

/ˌænəˈkɒndə/

ஆனைக்கொன்றான்

(card games) A particular variety of stud poker.


caiman

From Spanish caimán or Portuguese caimão, from Kari'na acayouman.

Caimans are reptiles that are closely related to their Central and South American neighbors, the alligators. Adult caimans are usually four to six feet (1.8 m) in length.

1995, Laurie Agopian, Extended Thematic Unit: Rain Forest, page 32:

2002, International Wildlife Encyclopedia: Brown bear - Cheetah, 3rd Edition, page 358,
The caimans are found in South America, mainly in the Amazon basin, with one species extending into the southern part of Mexico and another reaching northern parts of Argentina.

Newly hatched caimans eat insects. Young caimans are eaten by Jabirus, Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and raccoons. Adult caimans have no predators except human poachers.

2010, Carrol L. Henderson, Mammals, Amphibians, and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Field Guide, page 164:

(strictly) Any of the relatively small crocodilians of the genus Caiman, within the family Alligatoridae.

(loosely) A crocodilian of the subfamily Caimaninae, which includes the very large black caiman.

A semi-aquatic lizard, of the genus Dracaena, found in South America. To differentiate from caimans, they are referred to as caiman lizards.


viper

From Middle French vipere, from Old French vipre, from Latin vīpera, contracted from vīvipara f (“viviparous”, adj.), from vivus (“alive”, adj.) + parere (“to bear”, verb). Doublet of weever and wyvern.

affix

A venomous snake in the family Viperidae.

adder

a poisonous snake in the family Viperidae


basilisk

From Middle English basilicke, borrowed from Old French basilique, from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos) (literally "minor king or chieftain", possibly based on descriptions or rare encounters with different types of cobra which have crown-like patterns on their head; the "deadly gaze" could have been from the spitting cobra's ability to spit venom into the eyes of predators or prey from a distance), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”). The cognitohazard/infohazard sense is by analogy with the deadly gaze of the mythical creature.

As a guide to start your collection we'd suggest either iguanas, tejus, swifts, basilisks, horned toads or alligator lizards.

Any of the tree-dwelling of lizard of the genus Basiliscus: the basilisk lizard.


dragon

→ Fijian: drekoni

→ Japanese: ドラゴン (doragon)

desc

→ Korean: 드래곤 (deuraegon), 드래건 (deuraegeon)

→ Marathi: ड्रॅगन (ḍrĕgan)

→ Marshallese: tūrāikōn

→ Niuean: tarākoni

→ Swahili: dragoni

→ Tamil: டிராகன் (ṭirākaṉ)

→ Yoruba: dírágónì

From Middle English dragoun, borrowed from Old French dragon, from Latin dracō(n), from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn, “a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon”), probably from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “I see clearly”). Displaced native Old English draca—a doublet of dragon, as are Draco, dracone, and dragoon.

taniwha

Maori mythological creature similar to a dragon

These tapestries were magnificently figured with golden dragons; and as the serpentine bodies gleamed and shimmered in the increasing radiance, each dragon, I thought, intertwined its glittering coils more closely with those of another.

1913, Sax Rohmer, chapter XIII, in The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu:

A legendary serpentine or reptilian creature.

In Eastern Asian mythologies, a large, snake-like monster with the eyes of a hare, the horns of a stag and the claws of a tiger, usually beneficent.


moccasin

John Smith (explorer)
Louisville Zoo
Musée de l'Armée
Néstor Kirchner
President of Argentina

From Powhatan makasin, mockasin, mawhcasuns (plural), from Proto-Algonquian *maxkeseni. The word is cognate with Massachusett mohkisson, mokussin, Mi'kmaq mksɨn, Munsee mahkusin, Ojibwe makizin. First appears c. 1612 in the writings of John Smith. It has been suggested that sense 4 (“North American snake”) may be derived from a different Native American word.

refn

From the collection of the Musée de l'Armée in Paris, France.

The formal moccasins belonged to the former President of Argentina Néstor Kirchner (1950–2010) and are from the collection of the Museo del Bicentenario in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The term Chippewa, which is generaly applied to this nation, is derived from that of O̓ˊche̓pe̓ˊwa̓g, which they restrict to the Indians who reside near Fond du Lac, it signifies plaited shoes, from the fashion among those Indians of puckering their moccassins.

1824, William H[ypolitus] Keating, “Account of the Chippewa Indians. Their Usages, Manners, and Customs.”, in A Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter’s River, Lake Winnepeek, Lake of the Woods, &c. &c. […] In Two Volumes, volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea— […], →OCLC, page 151:

At length Chingachgook turned his eyes slowly towards his son, and demanded— / "Do the Maquas dare to leave the print of their moccasins in these woods?" / "I have been on their trail," replied the young Indian, "and know that they number as many as the fingers of my two hands; but they lie hid like cowards."

1826, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter III, in The Last of the Mohicans; a Narrative of 1757. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea— […], →OCLC, page 38:

The moccasin is preëminently an Indian invention, and one of the highest antiquity. It is true to nature in its adjustment to the foot, beautiful in its materials and finish, and durable as an article of apparel. […] The moccasin is made of one piece of deer skin. It is seamed up at the heel, and also in front, above the foot, leaving the bottom of the moccasin without a seam.

1850 July, Lewis H[enry] Morgan, “The Fabrics of the Iroquois”, in James Stryker, editor, Stryker’s American Register and Magazine, volume IV, Washington, D.C.: W. M. Morrison [et al.], →OCLC, page 321:

The carving of the toes, the articulation of which is slightly arched in some cases, shows great delicacy[…]. The feet of the leaping youths of the 'Ivory Deposit' omit this feature, since, as was usual in the sports of the bull-ring, they were shod in mocassin-like gear.

1930, Arthur Evans, “§87. Chryselephantine Figurines of ‘Boston Goddess’ and Boy-god Connected with Ivory Deposit: The Mother Goddess and Child.”, in The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilization as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos, volumes III (The Great Transitional Age in the Northern and Eastern Sections of the Palace: The Most Brilliant Records of Minoan Art and the Evidences of an Advanced Religion), London: Macmillan and Co., Limited […], →OCLC, page 452:

A traditional Native North American shoe, usually without a heel or sole, made of a piece of deerskin or other soft leather turned up at the edges which are either stitched together at the top of the shoe, or sewn to a vamp (a piece covering the top of the foot).


adder

From Middle English nadder, addere, rebracketing of “a naddere” as “an addere”, from Old English nǣdre (“snake”), from Proto-West Germanic *nadrā, from Proto-Germanic *nadrǭ, from pre-Germanic *néh₁treh₂, variant of Proto-Indo-European *n̥h₁trih₂, from *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, twist”).
See also West Frisian njirre, Dutch adder, German Natter, Otter; also Welsh neidr, Latin natrīx (“watersnake”), Dutch naaien.

A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling the viper.

Certain venomous snakes resembling other adders

Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen, the northern copperhead, a venomous viper found in the eastern United States


gopher

Perhaps an adaptation of Cajun French gaufre (literally “honeycomb, waffle”), based on the analogy of holes in the ground to the indentations in a honeycomb or a waffle (doublet of waffle). Alternatively, from Muskogean.

bor

A small burrowing rodent native to North and Central America, especially in the family Geomyidae (true gophers).


blindworm

Inherited from Middle English blynde worme, equivalent to blind + worm due to its very small eyes.

inh+

[…] we haue a blind worme to be found vnder logs in woods, and timber that hath lien long in a place, which some also doo call (and vpon better ground) by the name of [s]low worms, and they are knowen easilie by their more or lesse varietie of striped colours, drawen long waies from their heads, their whole bodies little excéeding a foot in length, & yet is there venem deadlie.

1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “[http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A68197.0001.001 [(please specify the book title).] Chapter 6.]”, in The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, →OCLC, page 228:

You spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;
Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong,
Come not near our fairy queen.

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

"But I'll give you a bit of advice! Take a blindworm - I'll find you one - and ram it into the barrel of your gun and then fire it, after that you may try what powder and shot will do."

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 77:

Anguis fragilis
Anguis fragilis#Translingual

Anguis fragilis (slowworm), a small species of legless lizard.


ouroboros

en-noun

ouroboros (plural ouroboroi or ouroboroses)

From Ancient Greek οὐροβόρος (ourobóros, “tail-devouring”, a compound of οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) + -βόρος (-bóros, “-devouring”, which is derived from the verb βιβρώσκω (bibrṓskō, “to eat up”))).

af

which is derived from the verb <i class="Polyt mention" lang="grc">βιβρώσκω</i> (bibrṓskō, “to eat up”)

bor

The alchemists were fond of picturing their opus as a circulatory process, as a circular distillation or as the uroboros, the snake biting its own tail, and they made innumerable pictures of this process.

1968 [1951], R. F. C. Hull, transl., Aion […] (The Collected Works of C. G. Jung), 2nd edition, volume 9.2, Princeton University Press, translation of original by C. G. Jung, →ISBN, page 264:

Khepera eating his own seed is a model of Romantic creativity, where the self is isolated and sexually dual. Khepera bent over himself is a uroboros, the serpent eating its own tail, a magic circle of regeneration and rebirth. The uroboros is the prehistoric track of natural cycle, from which Judaism and Hellenism make a conceptual break.

1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 41:

One myth speaks of Ouroboros, a serpent-like creature that survived and regenerated itself by eating only its own tail. By neither taking from nor adding to its environment, this creature was said to be completely environmentally benign and self-sufficient.

2004, Adrian Bejan et al., Porous and Complex Flow Structures in Modern Technologies, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 121:

First, the snake has not caught its tail—the ouroboros figure is uncompleted. Blake executed fully formed ouroboros figures for the verso of this Night Thoughts page and for a later passage (6:690-92), and was familiar with numerous full ouroboros figures from contemporary and earlier sources […]

2013, Jackie DiSalvo, G. A. Rosso, Christopher Z. Hobson eds., Blake, Politics, and History, Routledge, →ISBN:

(mythology) A serpent, dragon or worm that eats its own tail, a representation of the continuous cycle of life and death.

أوربوروس

a serpent, dragon or worm that eats its own tail


trike

Ellie: Oh, you know, if it's alright, I'd like to stay with Dr. Harding and finish with the trike. Is that okay?


Komodo dragon

/kəˈmoʊdoʊ ˈdɹæɡən/

Varanus komodoensis
Varanus komodoensis#Translingual

Varanus komodoensis, an endangered species of monitor lizard native to certain Indonesian islands east of Java, the world's largest lizard, growing to 10 feet or 3 meters, known for its ability to kill prey with its septic saliva.


rattler

/ˈɹætələ(ɹ)/


rattlesnake

Hooded rattlesnakes, horned toads, and lizards crawl in the dust and among the rocks.

1895, J[ohn] W[esley] Powell, chapter I, in Canyons of the Colorado, Meadville, PA: Flood & Vincent; republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons, New York: Dover, 1961, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 22:

The country ran shuttles and posted signs encouraging visitors to enjoy the display responsibly, but those precautions didn't prevent rattlesnake bites, twisted ankles, heat exhaustion, Instacelebs and other selfie-takers lying in or otherwise trampling the delicate blooms they'd come to see.

2019 July, Jeffrey Rindskopf, “The Costs of Instatravel”, in DOPE Magazine, page 90:

Any of various venomous American snakes, of genera Crotalus and Sistrurus, having a rattle at the end of its tail.


monitor

From Latin monitor (“warner”), from perfect passive participle monitus (“warning”), from verb monere (“to warn, admonish, remind”). Warship sense is from USS Monitor, the first ship of this type.

The information flashed up on the monitor.

(computing) A device similar to a television set used as to give a graphical display of the output from a computer.

So, as she did not like the masters to be prying about the play-ground out of school, she chose from among the biggest and most trustworthy of her pupils five monitors, who had authority over the rest of the Boys, and kept the unruly ones in order.

1871, Henry William Pullen, The Fight at Dame Europa's School:

But it was not so—at least, not always—for though they fell out among themselves, they united their forces against the common enemy—the monitors!

1881, Talbot Baines Reed, chapter X, in The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's:

He learned that a monitor should assist the teachers in distributing worksheets, maintaining class discipline, helping classmates in need and so on.

(Can we date this quote?), Pearl Poon, Class Monitor Election, Hong Kong ICAC Comics:

(Hong Kong, Singapore, archaic in British) A student leader in a class.


dinosaur

desc

→ Hindi: डायनासोर (ḍāynāsor), डाइनोसर (ḍāinosar)

→ Persian: دایناسور (dâynâsor)

→ Polish: dinozaur

→ Urdu: ڈایناسور (ḍāenāsor)

→ Urdu: ڈایناسور (ḍāenāsor)

/ˈdʌɪnəsɔːɹ/

From Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós, “terrible, awesome, mighty, fearfully great”) + σαῦρος (saûros, “lizard, reptile”). Coined as Dinosaur(s) and Dinosauria by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1841/1842.

der

"Not a bird, my dear Roxton - not a bird." "A beast?" "No; a reptile - a dinosaur."

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

‘Dinosaur!’ Denham exploded. ‘By the Power! A dinosaur!’

1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 80:

(proscribed) Any extinct reptile, not necessarily belonging to Dinosauria, that existed between about 230 million and 65 million years ago, as well as the stem-mammal Dimetrodon.


skink

From Middle French scinc, from Latin scincus, from Ancient Greek σκίγγος (skíngos), σκίγκος (skínkos).

A lizard of the family Scincidae, having small or reduced limbs or none at all and long tails that are regenerated when shed; a sandfish.


mamba

Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees.


swift

en-adj

swift (comparative swifter, superlative swiftest)

swifter (comparative)
swiftest (superlative)

From Middle English swift, from Old English swift (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Germanic *swiftaz (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)weyp- (“to twist; wind around”). Cognate with Icelandic svipta (“to pull quickly”), Old English swīfan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene”). More at swivel.


swift

Swift (bird)
Swift (disambiguation)
Swift (textiles)

A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.

ҫыр чӗкеҫӗ

śyr č̬ĕk̬eś̬ĕ

, spiny lizard

As a guide to start your collection we'd suggest either iguanas, tejus, swifts, basilisks, horned toads or alligator lizards.

Any of certain lizards of the genus Sceloporus.

(entomology) A moth of the family Hepialidae, swift moth, ghost moth.


swift

en-adv

swift (comparative more swift, superlative most swift)

more swift (comparative)
most swift (superlative)

Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw deep.

c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

Ply swift and strong the oar.


cooter

Borrowed from Gullah cootuh (“turtle”), from an African language, e.g. Bambara kuta (“turtle”). Attested in English from the 19th century.

A freshwater turtle of the eastern United States of the genus Pseudemys.


caret

Eretmochelys imbricata
Eretmochelys imbricata#Translingual

(archaic) A kind of turtle, the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata).


gecko

The modern form was probably borrowed into English and other European languages from Dutch gekko (1718). Contemporary English forms were chacco (1711) and jackoa (1724). The further origin is not quite clear. Some sources mention a supposed Malay gekok, gekoq, or gekop, which would be imitative of the gecko’s chirping sound. Another theory derives it from Acehnese gèh-gòh (“busy”).

Order II. Sauria. […] The heart has two auricles. The body is covered with scales, and there are three or four feet. The lungs are large, and extend along the back. The mouth is armed with teeth, and the toes with claws. The tail is long, and often thick at the base. […] Geckotida—geco

1839, William Rhind, “Reptiles”, in Elements of Zoology; Embracing a View of Life as Manifested in the Various Gradations of Organized Beings, Edinburgh: Fraser & Crawford; John Anderson, Junior; and Maclachlan & Stewart; Smith, Elder, & Co. and H. Washbourne, London; W. Curry, Junior, & Co. Dublin, →OCLC, pages 85–86:

Leishmania infantum in Experimental Animals.—Experiments were carried out with geckoes, white mice, field mice (Microtus güntheri) and hamsters (Cricetus auratus and Cricetulus griseus).

1931, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences, volume 108, London: Royal Society of London, →OCLC, page 456:

GECKOES constitute a family of lizards remarkable for the large number of species it contains. They are also remarkable for a number of other features: for the readiness with which they have taken to living in houses, for their voices, the structure of their feet, the variation in the shape of the tail and for their eyes. […] As with the more familiar lizards, geckoes have the ability to cast the tail, and counts show that in some species two out of every five individuals have cast the tail and regenerated a new one.

1962, Maurice Burton, “Geckoes”, in The Illustrated London News, volume CCXL, number II, London: Illustrated London News & Sketch Ltd., →OCLC, page 548:

Family Gekkonidae (gekkos). In gekkos the skull is short and flat; the upper temporal bone arch is missing; the post-orbital and lacrimal bones are absent; and the jugal bone is very reduced.

1971, Victorian Year Book, Melbourne, Vic.: Government Printer, →OCLC, page 23:

Many lizards, including the British common and sand lizards of the family Lacertidae, clamber over rocks with great agility; none matches the geckoes, some of which can run up, down, or across vertical glass as easily as most beasts run on the flat, and indeed can happily traverse ceilings.

1975 September 27, Colin Tudge, “How Gekko gecko defies gravity: A careful anatomical study of geckoes, those extremely agile climbing lizards, reveals an extraordinary degree of adaptation of the foot bones and muscles”, in New Scientist, volume 67, number 968, London: New Science Publications, →OCLC, page 696:

Other reptiles found in the district are the chamaeleon, geco and monitor lizard, the last getting extinct due to netting and shooting. It is now protected by law.

1988, Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Aligarh, volume 20, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India: Government of Uttar Pradesh, →OCLC, page 15:

The marvelous ability of geckos to run down trees, surefooted and head first, was first noted by Aristotle over two thousand years ago. However, Aristotle was not able to see the tiny hairs, called setae, that cover the toes of geckos and empower this feat. The setae are part of an adhesive system that allows geckos to maneuver on a wide variety of substrates, to run upside-down, and to arrest their falls. Geckos can run vertically at over 1 m/s and can carry over twice their body weight up smooth, vertical surfaces.

2009 January, Ginel Corina Hill, “Introduction”, in Dual-axis MEMS Force Sensors for Gecko Adhesion Studies (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation), Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University, →OCLC, page 1:

The potential uses for gecko-inspired adhesive products are nearly endless. People have found possible uses for them from sports and robotics, to medicine and home improvement.

2014, Wil Mara, From Gecko Feet to Adhesive Tape (Innovations from Nature), Ann Arbor, Mich.: Cherry Lake Publishing, →ISBN, pages 21–22:

By day, Golden-tailed Geckoes rest under curls of bark, the underside of branches, or in tree hollows but they seem to be fond of heat so these geckoes may even be in a situation where the sun shines on their daytime retreat all day. The Golden-tailed Gecko is an invertebrate-eater and by night its adhesive toe pads allow it to prowl the branches of Brigalow trees with ease, looking for small insects and spiders to capture.

2016, Martyn Robinson, Australian Wildlife after Dark, Clayton, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing, →ISBN:

Any lizard of the family Gekkonidae. They are small, carnivorous, mostly nocturnal animals with large eyes and adhesive toes enabling them to climb on vertical and upside-down surfaces.


boa

From Middle English boa, from Latin boa (“large snake”), a species of serpent mentioned in Pliny's Naturalis Historia (Natural History). The scarf was named attributively, for its resemblance to the snake when worn.

Any of a group of large American snakes, of the genus Boa, subfamily Boinae, or family Boidae, including the boa constrictor and the emperor boa of Mexico.


ophidian

From Latin ophidia (from Ancient Greek ὄφις (óphis, “snake”)) + -ian.

Vertebral structure is critical for the identification of fossil snakes, because vertebrae are among the most easily fossilized parts of ophidians.

1997, Olivier Rieppel, “chapter 2: The Lepidosauromorpha: an overview with special emphasis on the Squamata”, in Nicholas C. Fraser, Hans-Dieter Sues, editors, In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods, page 31:

It has long been known that ophidians have lost not only their front legs but also every embryonic trace of these limbs and their associated shoulder girdle (to such a degree that we cannot determine how many cervical vertebrae they have).

2011, Didier Marchand, “Chapter 11: The Logic of Forms in the Light of Developmental Biology and Palaeontology”, in Paul Bourgine, editor, Morphogenesis, page 205:

Siamese or double monsters are well known in saurians, chelonians, and ophidians, as are bicephalic, two-tailed and conjoined bodies (thoracodymus, ischiodymus, etc.).

2012, Bruce M. Rothschild, Hans-Peter Schultze, Rodrigo Pellegrini, Herpetological Osteopathology: Annotated Bibliography of Amphibians and Reptiles, page 226:

Any species of the suborder Serpentes; a snake or serpent.


iguana

/ɪ.ɡjuˈɑːnə/

A green iguana (Iguana iguana), a large tropical American lizard often kept as a pet.

(zoology) Any member of the genus Iguana.

Colloquially, in America and the Pacific, any of several members of the lizard family Iguanidae.

إِغْوَانَا

Colloquially, in Africa, any large member of the genus Varanus, especially the aquatic Nile monitor (see leguan).

The last they had had, was an iguana one of the blacks had brought in; and though he felt disgusted at the idea of eating it, he made up into a kind of stew, and they both enjoyed it immensely.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 161:

(Australia, formerly) Any member of the genus Varanus (see goanna).


chameleon

From Middle English camelion, from Old French cameleon, from Latin chamaeleon, from Ancient Greek χαμαιλέων (khamailéōn), from χαμαί (khamaí, “on the earth, on the ground”) + λέων (léōn, “lion”); ultimately a calque from Akkadian 𒌨𒈤𒊭𒆠 (nēšu ša qaqqari, “chameleon, reptile”, literally “lion of the ground", "predator that crawls upon the ground”). The spelling was re-latinized in the early 18th century. The physics sense was coined by Justin Khoury and Amanda Weltman in 2003 in a paper in Physical Review Letters.

der

A contagious neuro-ego-disease. A virus sticking to liars.
We're the self-centered fuel to boost the new strain of fire.
Adapting, shifting, lacking opinion. Our numbers exceeding the billions.
Everly walking among ourselves down the corridor of chameleons.

1998, “Corridor of Chameleons”, performed by Meshuggah:

A small to mid-size reptile, of the family Chamaeleonidae, and one of the best known lizard families able to change color and project its long tongue.


ridley

Any of the marine turtles of the genus Lepidochelys, found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.


colubrine

en-adj

colubrine (comparative more colubrine, superlative most colubrine)

more colubrine (comparative)
most colubrine (superlative)

From Latin colubrinus, from colubra (“snake”) + -inus (“-ine”).


ichthyosaurus

/ˌɪkθiəˈsɔːɹəs/


pterodactyl

/ˌtɛɹəˈdæktl̩/

/ˌtɛɹəˈdæktɪl/

From French ptérodactyle, a term coined by Cuvier from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) + δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”); by surface analysis, ptero- + -dactyl.


mugger

A person who assaults and robs others, especially in a public place.


wampum

en-noun

wampum (countable and uncountable, plural wampums or wampum)

Clipping of wampumpeag (“wampum”), probably borrowed from Massachusett wampompeage (“string of white beads used as money”), from wamp, wap, wompi (“white”) + umpe (“string”) + -ag (plural suffix).
Compare peag (“string of white beads used as money”), also a clipping of wampumpeag.
Sense 3 (“common kingsnake”) is from the similarity of the snake’s appearance to a string of wampum.
cognates
* Penobscot wάpαpəyak (singular wάpαpi)
* Unami òpapiàk (singular òpapi)

ref

From the collection of the McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

suckauhock

beads made from black shells which have been strung together

(uncountable):

[A]mong the Red Men of America the giving of the white belt of wampum was the deepest pledge of honor; […]

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Whiteness of the Whale”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 208:

From his lodge went Hiawatha, / Dressed for travel, armed for hunting; / Dressed in deer-skin shirt and leggings, / Richly wrought with quills and wampum; / On his head his eagle-feathers, / Round his waist his belt of wampum, […]

1855 November 10, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis”, in The Song of Hiawatha, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 51:

These title deeds are of wampum, the grant of an Indian chief to the first Dowell, who left Farnham in Surrey in company with William Penn.

1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], chapter I, in The Good Soldier […], Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1972 (1982 printing), →ISBN, part I, page 12:

(uncountable) Small cylindrical beads made from polished shells (especially white ones) which have been strung together, formerly used by Native American peoples of eastern North America for various purposes including as jewellery and money, and for record-keeping; (countable, archaic) one such bead.

wampum

small cylindrical beads made from polished shells (especially white ones) which have been strung together; one such bead


heterodont

/ˈhɛtəɹəʊdɒnt/

/ˈhɛtəɹəˌdɑnt/

From hetero- (prefix meaning ‘different’) + -odont (suffix meaning ‘tooth; toothed’). Hetero- is derived from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros, “one or the other of two; different”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together; one”); while -odont is from Ancient Greek ὀδούς (odoús, “tooth; tusk”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- (“to bite”) + *-ónts (suffix forming nouns denoting body parts). By surface analysis, hetero- + -odont.

der

The second suborder (Macrosformes) corresponds with the Heteroderms of M. André Marie Constant Duméril. These are divided into seven families: […] 4. the Heterodonts, (Dendrophis, Coronella, &c.); […]

1841, “REPTILES”, in [George Long], editor, The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, volumes XIX (Primaticcio–Richardson), London: Charles Knight and Co., […], →OCLC, page 409, column 2:

A snake of the genus Heterodon which is native to North America.


Gila monster

From the Gila River in Arizona and New Mexico, whose name may ultimately derive from
a Yuma word meaning "running water which is salty".

A venomous lizard, Heloderma suspectum, that lives in the deserts of the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico.


aspis

As might be expected, characters of the aspides themselves are not of much value in pollen identification, but they are easily recognized and many three-pored, aspidate grains are broadly categorized as "betuloid" in studies of airborne pollen.

1974, Eugene Cecil Ogden, Manual for Sampling Airborne Pollen, →ISBN, page 128:

(palynology) A prominent ring of thickened exine around a pore on a pollen grain


loggerhead

From logger (“(dialectal) heavy wooden block secured to a horse's leg to prevent it from straying”) + head. Logger was apparently coined because its sound connotes a clumsy, heavy object; compare log (“trunk of a dead tree; bulky piece of wood”).

compound

Loggerheads, from the resemblance of its knobbed involucres to a weapon so called, consisting of a ball of iron at the end of a stick, the knapweed, the Clobbewed of old MSS. Centaurea nigra, L.

1863, R[ichard] C[handler] A[lexander] Prior, “Loggerheads”, in On the Popular Names of British Plants, […], London, Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate, […], →OCLC, page 137:

Bolwes, loggerheads, centaurea nigra. […] Bolwes is balls, the hard round heads of the wort. Loggerheads is a name I have often heard in Oxfordshire.

1866, “Saxon Names of Worts and Trees”, in Oswald Cockayne, editor, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England. […] (Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores), volume III, London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, →OCLC, page 315, column 1:

(Midlands, dialectal, often in the plural) A thistle-like flowering plant of the genus Centaurea, particularly the common knapweed (Centaurea nigra).

But here is a ſpecies of ducks, called the loggerhead, from its large head. They have ſhort wings, are unable to fly, and only ſwim and flap along on the water at an extraordinary rate.

1775 November 9, William Clayton, “V. An Account of the Falkland Islands”, in Philosophical Transactions, of the Royal Society of London, volume XLVI, part I, number 446, London: Printed by W[illiam] Bowyer and J[ohn] Nichols; for Lockyer Davis, […], printer to the Royal Society, published 1776, →OCLC, page 104:

A ſpecies of duck, as large as a gooſe, and called the loggerhead duck at the Falkland Iſlands, is here met with, which beats the water with its wings and feet, and runs along the ſea with inconceivable velocity; […]

1810 July, Jedidiah Morse, “Terra del Fuego Island”, in The American Gazetteer, Exhibiting a Full Account of the Civil Divisions, Rivers, Harbors, Indian Tribes, &c. of the American Continent: […], 3rd revised and corrected edition, Boston, Mass.: Thomas & Andrews […], →OCLC:

Micropterus cinereus (Gm.). (Loggerhead Duck.) This Duck, which is called the ‘Loggerhead’ in the Falkland Islands, frequents the salt water. […] Looking for the Loggerhead’s eggs, which are esteemed a great delicacy, is a great amusement to all the boys in Stanley.

1861 April, C[harles] C[onrad] Abbott, “XV.—Notes on the Birds of the Falkland Islands”, in Philip Lutley Sclater, editor, The Ibis, a Magazine of General Ornithology, volume III, number X, London: N[icholas] Trübner and Co., […], →OCLC, paragraph 42, page 161:

Tachyeres brachypterus
Tachyeres brachypterus#Translingual

Used as the name of various animals with large heads.

The loggerhead duck or Falkland steamer duck (Tachyeres brachypterus; formerly Tachyeres cinereus), a species of steamer duck endemic to the Falkland Islands.

[E]arly in the season, a pair of Loggerheads, Tyrannus caudifasciatus, appropriated the same tree to themselves, and commenced constructing their nest. The Mocking birds were seen constantly in the square, but never interrupted or interfered with them until they had nearly completed the nest; they then drove away the Loggerheads, took possession of it, added a few sticks to the outwork, laid the eggs and hatched the young brood. The poor Loggerheads hovered about the place in great distress for a few days, but never attempted to regain possession of their property.

1863 October–November, W. T. March, S[pencer] F[ullerton] Baird, “(Communicated by the Smithsonian Institution.) Notes on the Birds of Jamaica. […]”, in Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, number 6, Philadelphia, Pa.: Academy of Natural Sciences, […], →OCLC, page 291:

loggerhead kingbird
loggerhead kingbird#English

The loggerhead kingbird (Tyrannus caudifasciatus), a bird endemic to the Caribbean and West Indies.

[…] I have received here also one of the parent birds, and in this instance I have been again surprised to learn that it is the Loggerhead, and not borealis or excubitoroides, that is the species referred to. […] So that we have in all ten well-authenticated instances of the Loggerhead breeding in the very heart of two of the most northerly of the New England States.

1879 April, T[homas] M[ayo] Brewer, “General Notes. [The Loggerhead Shrike (Colluro ludovicianus) Breeding in Northern New England.]”, in Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club: A Quarterly Journal of Ornithology, volume IV, number 2, Cambridge, Mass.: Published by the [Nuttall Ornithological] Club, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 119:

Lanius ludovicianus
Lanius ludovicianus#Translingual

The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), a bird endemic to North America.

Sternotherus minor (Agassiz) / Loggerhead musk-turtle / […] Most numerous in large calcareous springs, where they may be seen at night wandering around on the bottom, especially about piles of debris.

1940 January, Archie Fairly Carr, Jr., “Annotated List”, in A Contribution to the Herpetology of Florida (University of Florida Biological Science Series; vol. III, no. 1), [Gainesville, Fla.]: University of Florida, →OCLC, page 96:

The loggerhead (S[ternotherus] m[inor] minor) and stripe-necked (S. m. peltifer) musk turtles represent two distinct subspecies of a species with a tan to brown carapace with black streaking and overlapping scutes down the center of the carapace. […] The head of old loggerhead musk turtles becomes disproportionately enlarged, as does the front half of the entire shell.

2008, Kurl Buhlmann, Tracey Tuberville, Whit Gibbons, “Loggerhead and Striped-head Musk Turtles”, in Turtles of the Southeast (Wormsloe Foundation Nature Book), Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press, →ISBN, page 131:

loggerhead musk turtle
loggerhead musk turtle#English

The loggerhead musk turtle (Sternotherus minor), a large-headed turtle endemic to the United States.

The Loggerhead is ſo called from the largeneſs of its head, which is much bigger in proportion than that of other kinds. The fleſh of this alſo is very rank, and not eaten but in caſe of neceſſity.

1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “Of the Tortoise, and Its Kinds”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume VI, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John] Nourse, […], →OCLC, part IV (Of Crustaceous and Testaceous Fishes), page 361:

[O]ur boat was hoisted out, and a loggerhead turtle struck as it was sleeping on the surface of the water. […] Dr. Patrick Browne, in his Natural History of Jamaica, mentions the hawksbill, the green turtle, and the loggerhead only. […] The loggerhead from which his description was taken was caught near the Western Islands, many leagues out at sea.

1850 November, “Leaves from the Note-book of a Naturalist. Part XI.”, in Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country, volume XLII, number CCLI, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], →OCLC, page 548:

The currest estimated number of loggerhead females nesting annually from North Carolina to Key Biscayne, Florida is 20,640 (± 6,328). This nesting level has been relatively stable since 1980 and accounts for about 98 percent of all loggerhead nesting within the continental United States.

1987 February 20, “Affected Environment”, in Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement on Listing and Protecting the Green Sea Turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and the Pacific Ridley Sea Turtle under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, [Washington, D.C.]: Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, →OCLC, section III.A.1 (Loggerheads), page 33:

loggerhead sea turtle
loggerhead sea turtle#English

Caretta caretta
Caretta caretta#Translingual

The loggerhead sea turtle or loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), an oceanic turtle found throughout the world.


asp

From Middle English aspe, from Old French aspe, from Latin aspis, aspidis (“asp, viper”), from Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje”); compare Middle English aspide.


agama

From Sranan Tongo agama (“lizard”), from a Gbe language; compare Ewe agama (“chameleon”).

Any of the various small, long-tailed lizards of the subfamily Agaminae of family Agamidae, especially in genera Acanthocercus, Agama, Dendragama, Laudakia, Phrynocephalus, Trapelus and Xenagama.


snapping turtle

en-noun

snapping turtle (plural snapping turtles)

Any of several large American freshwater turtles of the family Chelydridae, which have powerful hooked jaws that close with a snap.


cottonmouth

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cottonmouth.wav

Agkistrodon piscivorus
Agkistrodon piscivorus#Translingual

A snake, Agkistrodon piscivorus, the water moccasin.


python

From Latin pȳthon, from Ancient Greek Πύθων (Púthōn), the name of the mythological enormous serpent at Delphi slain by Apollo, probably from Πυθώ (Puthṓ), older name of Delphi.

(zoology) A type of large constricting snake.


potter

From Middle English pottere, from late Old English pottere (“potter”), equivalent to pot + -er, influenced by Old French potier (“potter”). More at pot. Displaced Old English crocwyrhta (literally “pot worker”).

ncog

The chicken turtle, Deirochelys reticularia.


reptilian

en-adj

reptilian (comparative more reptilian, superlative most reptilian)

more reptilian (comparative)
most reptilian (superlative)

From reptile + -ian, replacing earlier reptilious and adjectival reptile.


dinosaurus

en-noun

dinosaurus (plural dinosauri or dinosauruses)

dinosauri (plural)
dinosauruses (plural)


terrapin

terrapin (countable and uncountable, plural terrapins)

From torup (“snapping turtle native to North America, especially the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)”) or from its etymon Powhatan *tōrəp (“sea turtle”) + possibly English -ine (suffix forming derivative or diminutive nouns), perhaps influenced by Latin terra (“dry land; soil; planet Earth”). Cognate with Abenaki tolba (“turtle”), Penobscot dolba and Unami (pisëla)tulpe (“soft-shelled turtle”).

cog

As to the terrapin, I have not so much to say. The terrapin is a small turtle, found on the shores of Maryland and Virginia, out of which a very rich soup is made. It is cooked with wines and spices, and is served in the shape of a hash, with heaps of little bones mixed through it. […] I must, however, confess that the terrapin for me had no surpassing charms.

1862, Anthony Trollope, “From Boston to Washington”, in North America. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 467:

diamondback terrapin
diamondback terrapin

(countable, obsolete) Any of several small turtles native to North America that live in brackish or fresh water, especially the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin).

сладководна костенурка

any of several small turtles native to North America that live in brackish or fresh water


pterosaur

From ptero- + -saur, literally “wing lizard”, from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “feather, wing”) and σαῦρος (saûros, “lizard, reptile”).

bor

Batsquatch, pterosaurs and the River Man. She had three weeks in Washington State tracking down the local legends. There was nothing ordinary about her job as the biologist on the television show Cryptid or Hoax?

2020, Shona Husk, Close to the Truth, HarperCollins Australia, →ISBN:

Any of several flying reptiles, of the extinct order †Pterosauria, including the pterodactyls.


cockatrice

First attested 1382 as Middle English cocatrice (“basilisk”), from Old French cocatriz, from Late Latin calcātrīx (“she who treads upon something”), from Latin calcō (“tread”), from calx (“heel, hoof”).

der

“Peace reigns in happy Luxor. The lion lies down with the lamb, and the child, if it will, may harmlessly put its hand into the cockatrice’s den.”

c. 1910, Joseph Walker McSpadden, The Spell of Egypt:

(mythology) A legendary creature about the size and shape of a dragon or wyvern, but in appearance resembling a giant rooster, with some lizard-like characteristics.

For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 8:17:

(fantasy, folklore) A snake or serpent that appears to be hatched from a rooster, or cock's, egg.

this little cockatrice of a king

1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC:

(obsolete, figurative) Any venomous or deadly thing.


velociraptor

From New Latin Velociraptor genus name, from vēlōx (“swift”) + raptor (“thief”).
The application to Deinonychus came about because Gregory S. Paul proposed that Velociraptor and Deinonychus were the same genus and this idea was taken up in the book leading to the Jurassic Park film series.

This is my favorite velociraptor, and that is saying a lot....That this species is sunk into Velociraptor is rather unfortunate, because the name Deinonychus Ostrom 1969a is a fine one.

1988, Gregory S. Paul, Predatory Dinosaurs of the World, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo: Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, pages 366–7:


Tyrannosaurus rex

en-noun

Tyrannosaurus rex (plural Tyrannosaurus rex or Tyrannosaurus rexes or Tyrannosauri reges)

Tyrannosaurus rex (plural)
Tyrannosaurus rexes (plural)
Tyrannosauri reges (plural)

/taɪˌɹænəˈsɔːɹəs ˈɹɛks/

/təˌɹænəˈsɔːɹəs ˈɹɛks/

Some of the most spectacular beasts in East Coast museums happen to be Tyrannosaurus rexes from Montana.

1999, Fred Setterberg, America: True Stories of Life on the Road, →ISBN, page 244:

"Now, Dr. Richgels, you picked a folder from the story box. Could you show us the one that you picked?" Mine shows two Tyrannosaurus rexes fighting […]

2003, Donald J. Richgels, Going to Kindergarten: A Year with an Outstanding Teacher, →ISBN, page 222:

So Lyell's view is not inconsistent with Dollo's Law of Irreversibility in that, under awful (i.e., evolutionary) changes, biological organisms would not follow the same unlikely path regenerating, say, DNA-exact Tyrannosaurus rexes from ancestral chicken stock in some future age.

2009, Allen A. Debus, Prehistoric Monsters: The Real and Imagined Creatures of the Past, →ISBN, page 251:

A giant carnivorous theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous period.


snakebite

snakebite (countable and uncountable, plural snakebites)

We agreed to go down to the bar and get a snakebite together, […]

2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 231:

(countable, uncountable) A drink made by mixing hard cider and lager.

Coordinate term: angel bites

Ellie recently got a navel piercing and snakebites.

(countable) Either of a pair of lip piercings below the lower lip, resembling the fangs of a snake.


zonure

From translingual Zonurus, from zon- (“girdle, belt”), from Ancient Greek ζώνη (zṓnē, “girdle, belt”) + -urus (“-tailed”), from Ancient Greek οὐρά (ourá, “tail”).

uder

Any one of several of South African lizards of the genus Zonurus (now Smaug), common in rocky environments.


safeguard

en-verb

safeguard (third-person singular simple present safeguards, present participle safeguarding, simple past and past participle safeguarded)

safeguards (present singular third-person)
safeguarding (participle present)
safeguarded (participle past)
safeguarded (past)

From Middle English savegard, from Middle French sauvegarde, from Old French salve garde, sauve garde, reconstructed as safe + guard.

(UK, Ireland, by extension) To implement safeguarding.


leatherback

Dermochelys coriacea
Dermochelys coriacea#Translingual

A large sea turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, with a leathery back.


coral snake

Any of various venomous snakes of six genera in family Elapidae, many displaying distinctive color bands.

Over 65 recognized species of New World coral snakes in three genera (Leptomicrurus, Micruroides, Micrurus), native to tropical South America and Southern USA, having bright bands of red, yellow and black.

About 16 species of Old World coral snakes in three genera (Calliophis, Hemibungarus, Sinomicrurus), some banded.


goanna

A respelling in Australia of guana, from iguana. Rhyming slang sense rhyming on colloquial pronunciation 'pianner'.

Four goannas ran up the tree, and the animals of the bush had preyed so very lavishly on the remains of mortality that the thorax and other parts of the neck, together with various portions of flesh from the body, were missing.

1832, Coroner's Inquest, November 15, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, p. 3

Hello! There's a goanna; that's a good sized one; but nothing to the one that I tumbled over when I was coming from the Big River.

1849, The Ring, April 21, Bell's Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer, p. 2

I'll think of how the kids come alive walking around sandplains / reading tracks, looking for goannas, digging up witchetty grubs / collecting berries, branches of bush medicines.

2022, Meg Mooney, Northern Territory Literary Awards, page 33:

Any of various monitor lizards native to Australia.


smooth snake

A nonvenomous snake, Coronella austriaca, native to Eurasia.


garter snake

Any of various species of nonvenomous snakes of the genus Thamnophis, native to America, with longitudinal stripes.


grass snake

A snake of either of the two species of the nonvenomous green snake, Opheodrys, of North America:

A smooth green snake (Opheodrys vernalis)


monitor lizard

From the obsolete taxa Monitor and Lacerta monitor now displaced by Varanus within the single-species family Varanidae. The word Monitor is a calque of German Warner, which is a loanword from Arabic وَرَن (waran). The conflation of the two words was encouraged by the lizards' habit of standing on their hind legs and appearing to monitor their surroundings.

Any of various large carnivorous lizards of the family Varanidae, all of whose extant species are of genus Varanus, native to Africa, Asia and Australia.


slowworm

From Middle English sloworm (possibly influenced by slow), from Old English slāwyrm (“slow-worm, blindworm”), from *slā (related to Norwegian slo (“slow-worm”), Swedish slå (“slow-worm”)) + wyrm (“worm, snake”). Compare Swedish ormslå.

inh

Well, sir, it may be we shall have some better orations of it anon: well, Ile watch you as narrowly as ever you were watcht, and Ile play with you as the nightingale with the slowworme;[…]

c. 1588, Robert Greene, “Scene Eleventh. Frier Bacons cell.”, in The Honorable Historie of Frier Bacon and Frier Bongay:

A small Old World lizard, Anguis fragilis, often mistaken for a snake, having no legs and small eyes.


tuatara

/tuːəˈtɑːɹə/

Sphenodon punctatus
Sphenodon punctatus#Translingual

A reptile, Sphenodon punctatus, native to New Zealand, that resembles lizards and is the only surviving rhynchocephalian.


hamadryad

en-noun

hamadryad (plural hamadryads or hamadryades)

hamadryads (plural)
hamadryades (plural)

From Latin Hamadryas, from Ancient Greek Ἁμαδρυάς (Hamadruás), from ἅμα (háma, “together”) + δρῦς (drûs, “tree”).

af

The hamadryades have gone, like the golden fancies of which they were engendered—morning dreams of a young world scarce awake, but full of freshness and beauty. Yet often will the thought, or rather the fancy, come across me, that this wailing but most musical noise—heard in the dim evening, when every tree has a separate sound like a separate instrument, and every leaf a differing tone like the differing notes—is the piteous lament of some nymph pent within the gray and mossy trunk whence she may never more emerge in visible loveliness.

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 301:

The various supports, rafters, braces and plates are of pandanus logs of a rich oily brown, and make one think of a sylvan cathedral where hamadryads might very well dance, where Syrinx might be chased by Pan, Daphne by Apollo, and various other heathen rites take place in the dark hours before the dawn.

1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 106:

(Greek mythology) A wood-nymph who was physically a part of her tree; she would die if her tree were felled.

Papio hamadryas
Papio hamadryas#Translingual

A baboon of species Papio hamadryas, venerated by the ancient Egyptians.

Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genera Hamadryas and Tellervo.


tortoiseshell

en-noun

tortoiseshell (usually uncountable, plural tortoiseshells)

/ˈtɔː(ɹ)təˌʃɛl/

/ˈtɔː(ɹ)təsˌʃɛl/

želvovina

covering of carapace of hawksbill turtle


tyrannosaur

So far, Druckenmiller and his team have dug up species from seven different dino families: from big duck-billed dinos, ceretopsians, and tyrannosaurs to smaller thescelosaurs, leptoceratops, dromaeosaurs, and troodontids.

2021 September 21, Karen Hopkin, “Dinosaurs Lived—and Made Little Dinos—in the Arctic”, in Scientific American:

Instead it belongs to a new species of tyrannosaur, which the researchers have dubbed Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis in a paper published on January 11 in Scientific Reports.

2024 November 1, Meghan Bartels, “Enigmatic Dinosaur Skull Sparks Debate over Tyrannosaur Evolution”, in Scientific American:

Any large bipedal carnivorous dinosaur, of the family Tyrannosauridae, that lived in North America during the Cretaceous period.


caiman lizard

Any semi-aquatic lizard, of the genus Dracaena, found in South America


teiid

The teiids we know today are a New World family, ecological counterparts of Old World lacertids. Historically, teiids had a wider distribution, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.

2003, Eric R. Pianka, Laurie J. Vitt, Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity, published 2006, page 195:

As in our study, he found that taxonomic groups cluster together in morphospace (i.e. iguanians together, teiids and varanids together).

2007, Lance D. McBrayer, Clay E. Corbin, “9: Patterns of head shape variation in lizards: morphological correlates of foraging mode”, in Stephen M. Reilly, Lance D. McBrayer, Donald B. Miles, editors, Lizard Ecology, page 293:

The highly attuned nervous system of racerunners and teiids makes them very adept at locating and grasping prey insects.

2008, R. D. Bartlett, Patricia Bartlett, Lizard Care from A to Z: From Anoles to Zonosaurs, page 146:


perentie

From Dieri pirrinthi (or other Karnic language).

Joshua stuck his tongue in and out like a lizard's and, twisting his fingers into claws, dug them crabwise into the sand to imitate the perenty’s walk.

1987, Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines, Vintage, published 1998, page 153:

The largest Australian monitor lizard or goanna, Varanus giganteus.


copperhead

Agkistrodon contortrix
Agkistrodon contortrix#Translingual

Any of certain of snakes having a copper-colored head in three families within suborder Serpentes.

A venomous pit viper of species Agkistrodon contortrix, found in parts of North America.


saurian

From Sauria (suborder of lizards) + -an (suffix forming adjectives), under influence from earlier French saurien.

compound

I took heart, however, as I recalled a conversation between Challenger and Summerlee upon the habits of the great saurians.

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

(properly) A reptile of the suborder Sauria.


ankylosaur

/ˈæŋkəloʊˌsɔːɹ/

In a study published Wednesday in Nature, Chilean researchers announced the discovery of a new species of ankylosaur, a family of dinosaurs known for their heavy armor, from subantarctic Chile.

2021 December 1, Asher Elbein, “This Dinosaur Found in Chile Had a Battle Ax for a Tail”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:


ankylosaurus

en-noun

ankylosaurus (plural ankylosauri or ankylosauruses)

ankylosauri (plural)
ankylosauruses (plural)

/ˌæŋkəloʊˈsɔːɹəs/

From the genus translingual Ankylosaurus, from Ancient Greek ἀγκύλος (ankúlos, “crooked”) + σαῦρος (saûros, “lizard”); by surface analysis, ankylo- + -saurus. The word was coined in 1908 by Brown, who did not give any explanation. It may have been intended to refer to ankylosis, a medical condition in which bones fuse and can cause a deformity. Ankylosaurs have some rear ribs fused to their vertebrae.

der

A large herbivorous dinosaur, of genus Ankylosaurus, that lived in the Cretaceous period, noted for its heavy armor and club-like tail.

aнкилозавър

large herbivorous dinosaur of the Cretaceous


taipan

From the name of the Thaypan tribe of Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia, or from Wik-Mungkan tay-pan (or dhayban).

Any venomous elapid snake of the genus Oxyuranus, found in Australia and New Guinea.


boomslang

en-noun

boomslang (plural boomslang or boomslangs)

From Afrikaans boomslang, from Dutch boomslang, composed of boom (“tree”) + slang (“snake”).

Dispholidus typus
Dispholidus typus#Translingual

(South Africa) A highly venomous snake found in sub-Saharan Africa, Dispholidus typus.

shádiʼááhjí Naakaii Łizhiní Bikéyahdę́ę́ʼ tsinlátah tłʼiish


puffadder

Borrowed from Afrikaans or South African Dutch pofadder.

In the pools, too, was a species of small alligator or enormous iguana, I do not know which, that fed, Billali told me, upon the waterfowl, also large quantities of a hideous black water-snake, of which the bite is very dangerous, though not, I gathered, so deadly as a cobra's or a puff adder's.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

especially, a common puffadder (Bitis arietans), found in Southern Africa.


honu

Chelonia mydas
Chelonia mydas#Translingual


leguaan

From French l’iguane, "the iguana", through Dutch and Afrikaans.

2001 : Finally, a help plea yesterday from Debbie Thompson of Gonubie -- what to do about a small leguaan that had taken up residence in her "somewhat wild" garden with big trees, dense shrubs and hedges? http://www.dispatch.co.za/2001/01/18/editoria/CHIEL.HTM

2006 : This is the view of Sazi Mhlongo, chair of the Traditional Healers's Association of SA (Thasa). It follows the recent court appearance of a sangoma and five others after police discovered the skins of various protected animals in the sangoma's house. The skins included that of a lion, leopard, puff adder and water leguaan. https://web.archive.org/web/20060926093033/http://www.pawtal.co.za/pages/article.asp?ID=337


racer

→ Japanese: レーサー (rēsā)

An animal known for its fast speed, or suitable for racing; applied especially to a number of North American snakes, certain kinds of lake trout, etc.


frilled lizard

The lizard Chlamydosaurus kingii, native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea, which has a large contractile membranous frill around its neck that usually stays folded against its body but is extended in territorial and courtship display.


anole

Any of the genus Anolis of chiefly arboreal dactyloid lizards native to the Americas, which feature a brightly colored dewlap and the ability to change color.


boa constrictor

boa constrictor (plural boa constrictors)

Unadapted borrowing from New Latin Boa constrictor.

ubor

After him followed a blesbok, then an impala, then a koodoo, then more goats, and many other animals, including a girl sewn up in the shining scaly hide of a boa-constrictor, several yards of which trailed along the ground behind her.

Boa constrictor
Boa constrictor#Translingual

A large tropical American snake, Boa constrictor, that kills its prey by squeezing them.


blue-tongue lizard

en-noun

blue-tongue lizard (plural blue-tongue lizards)

Any of several species of Australian skinks in the genus Tiliqua.


file snake

Peter had four barramundi and Rosie had three turtles, a possum and a fat file snake.

1988, Tom Cole, Hell West and Crooked, Angus & Robertson, published 1995, page 259:

Any of various snakes resembling a file in texture or appearance, especially a wart snake or a non-venomous South African snake of the genus Mehelya.


sauropod

His most memorable work is an illustrated compendium of dinosaurian copulatory positions - a sort of reptilian Kama Sutra - that includes a “leg over” manoeuvre by the sauropods, the largest dinosaurs of all - that many consider highly dubious.

2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 21:

A member of the Sauropoda suborder of dinosaurs


tyrannosaurus

tyrannosaurus (plural tyrannosauri or tyrannosauruses)

tyrannosauri (plural)
tyrannosauruses (plural)

/tɪˌɹænəˈsɔːɹəs/

From New Latin Tyrannosaurus, from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “tyrant”) + σαῦρος (saûros, “lizard”).

der

A large carnivorous dinosaur, of the genus Tyrannosaurus, found in North America during the late Cretaceous period.


duckbill

duckbill eel

Nettastoma parviceps, or Nessorhamphus ingolfianus

duckbill ray

Aetobatus narinari or Pteromylaeus bovinus

duck-billed platypus
duck-billed platypus


apatosaur

From scientific Latin Apatosaurus (genus name).

A large, herbivorous, gregarious sauropod dinosaur, of the genus Apatosaurus, from Jurassic North America; it had a long neck and tail.

apatosaure

large, herbivorous dinosaur of the genus Apatosaurus


brontosaurus

en-noun

brontosaurus (plural brontosauruses or brontosauri)

brontosauruses (plural)
brontosauri (plural)

From New Latin, from Ancient Greek βροντή (brontḗ, “thunder”) + -saurus.

der

One of the largest land animals to ever walk the earth; a Brontosaurus.


gavial

From Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl). Doublet of gharial.

Cuvier had begun studying the fossils of crocodiles found near Caen and Honfleur in France. (They were, in fact, gavials, fine-jawed crocodiles that are nowadays found in India).

2002, Pierre-Henri Gouyon, Jean-Pierre Henry, Jacques Arnould, “Gene Avatars: The Neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution”, in Tiiu Ojasoo, transl., [1997, Les avatars du gène: La théorie néodarwinienne de l'évolution], page 28:

Although human remains and jewelry have been found in their stomachs, gavials are not as fierce as many alligators and crocodiles.

2006, Lynn Huggins-Cooper, Ravenous Reptiles, page 19:

Gavials (or gharials) are found only on the northern Indian subcontinent, where most are riverine, being best adapted to calmer areas in deep fast-flowing rivers.

2011, Joseph T. Springer, Dennis Holley, An Introduction to Zoology: Investigating the Animal World, page 415:

The crocodilian Gavialis gangeticus; any species of the family Gavialidae.


loggerhead turtle

en-noun

loggerhead turtle (plural loggerhead turtles)

A large, carnivorous marine turtle, Caretta caretta, found in warm seas


quetzalcoatlus

From the genus name Quetzalcoatlus, based on Classical Nahuatl Quetzalcōātl.

A large toothless pterosaur of the genus Quetzalcoatlus.


hawksbill

From hawk + -s- + bill; so named because its sharp beak is reminiscent of a hawk's.

Eretmochelys imbricata
Eretmochelys imbricata#Translingual

A tropical marine turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, that is a source of tortoiseshell.


brachiosaurus

From brachio- + -saurus; literally “arm lizard”, relating to the great length of its forelegs compared to its hindlegs.

A large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur, Brachiosaurus altithorax, which lived during the Jurassic period.


diplodocus

From Ancient Greek διπλόος (diplóos, “double”) and δοκός (dokós, “beam”).

uder

Any of several herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs, of the genus Diplodocus, known as fossils from the late Jurassic in North America.


stegosaur

Any of several extinct herbivorous dinosaurs, of the suborder Stegosauria, having two rows of bony plates along the back.


bluetongue

en-noun

bluetongue (countable and uncountable, plural bluetongues)

“I don't worry about snakes, blue-tongues, spiders. All I worry about is the mutton-bird.”

2004, Nicholas Shakespeare, In Tasmania, Harvill Press, p. 191

(countable, Australia) The blue-tongue lizard.


matamata

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese matamatá.

A side-necked turtle of species Chelus fimbriata, whose shell resembles a dead leaf.


plateless turtle

plateless turtle (plural plateless turtles)

Australasian pig-nose turtle
Australasian pig-nose turtle

Carettochelys insculpta
Carettochelys insculpta#Translingual

The Australasian pig-nose turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)


Fly River turtle

Fly River turtle (plural Fly River turtles)

Australasian pig-nose turtle (Carettochelys insculpta).


pig-nose turtle

pig-nose turtle (plural pig-nose turtles)

The Australasian pig-nose turtle (Carettochelys insculpta).


pig-nosed turtle

pig-nosed turtle (plural pig-nosed turtles)

Alternative form of pig-nose turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)


pitted-shelled turtle

pitted-shelled turtle (plural pitted-shelled turtles)


green turtle

Among the archipelago's ecological attractions are turtles and avians. The green turtles (Chelonia mydas japonica) that lay their eggs on Wangan Island between May and October are an endangered species protected by ROC law.

2014, Steven Crook, Taiwan (Bradt Travel Guides), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 310:


chicken turtle

After the chicken-like flavor of its meat.

‘I've a chicken-turtle, which promises well—the first I've received this season, from what I call my West-Indian farm […].’

1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 81:

An uncommon freshwater turtle, of species Deirochelys reticularia, found in the southeast of the United States, similar in appearance to the eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta), but with an unusually long, striped neck, a yellow stripe on each of its legs and a net-like pattern on its carapace.


side-necked turtle

side-necked turtle (plural side-necked turtles)

As we scan the Gaelian shore we see large side-necked turtles sunning themselves.

2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: The First 100 Million Years, Penguin, published 2019, page 29:

Any turtle of the family Pelomedusidae, characterised by protecting its head by turning it to one side rather than, as other turtles do, withdrawing it into its shell.


snake-necked turtle

snake-necked turtle (plural snake-necked turtles)

Any turtle of the Chelodina or Hydromedusa genera and some others in family Chelidae.


pond turtle

and many more

western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata)

The Philippine forest turtle or Leyte pond turtle (Heosemys leytensis).


box turtle

A turtle of the genera Terrapene (the North American box turtles), Cuora, or Pyxidea (the Asian box turtles), characterised by having a domed shell that is hinged at the bottom, allowing the animal to close its shell tightly to escape predators.


Australasian pig-nose turtle

Australasian pig-nose turtle (plural Australasian pig-nose turtles)

Carettochelys insculpta, a species of soft-shelled turtle native to freshwater streams, lagoons and rivers of the Northern Territory of Australia and of southern New Guinea.


green sea turtle

green sea turtle (plural green sea turtles)

Any of species Chelonia mydas of large sea turtles, the only species of the genus Chelonia.


soft-shelled turtle

soft-shelled turtle (plural soft-shelled turtles)

soft-shell turtle
soft-shell turtle#English


spiny softshell turtle

spiny softshell turtle (plural spiny softshell turtles)

A type of soft-shell turtle (Apalone spinifera) native to Canada, the United States and Mexico, having spiny projections on the leading edge of its carapace.


soft-shell turtle

soft-shell turtle (plural soft-shell turtles)

Any turtle of the family Trionychidae, such turtles having a carapace that has no scutes and is leathery and pliable at the sides.


constrictor

constrictor (plural constrictors or constrictores)

constrictors (plural)
constrictores (plural)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-constrictor.wav

Borrowed from New Latin cōnstrictor, or from constrict + -or.

pharyngeal constrictor
pharyngeal constrictor#English

(anatomy) A muscle whose contraction narrows a vessel or passage or compresses an organ.

(anatomy) Each of the muscles which constrict the pharynx; ellipsis of pharyngeal constrictor..


bloodsucker

From blood + sucker. Sense 5 (“changeable lizard”) is perhaps because of the reddish color of its neck.

The changeable lizard (Calotes versicolor).


red-eared slider

red-eared slider (plural red-eared sliders)

The turtle subspecies Trachemys scripta elegans, quite popular as a pet. Although native to the southern United States, it has become common in many areas of the world.


ceratopsian

suf

translingual <i class="Latn mention" lang="mul">Ceratops</i>

Triceratops is a ceratopsian dinosaur.

One common ceratopsian feature is a frill extending from the back of the skull.

Of or belonging to the Ceratopsia suborder of dinosaurs.


blacksnake

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-blacksnake.wav

Alternative form of black snake: any of several relatively harmless North American snakes.


bushmaster

Lachesis muta
Lachesis muta#Translingual

A venomous pit viper, Lachesis muta, from tropical America.


amphisbaena

From Latin amphisbaena, from Ancient Greek ἀμφίσβαινα (amphísbaina, from ἀμφίς (amphís, “both ways”) + βαίνω (baínō, “I go”)).

der

1971: What do you call that animal that goes backward and forward, head at each end? —'Amphisbaena'. A kind of lizard. It doesn't exist. — Anthony Burgess, M/F (Penguin 2004, p. 109)

(mythology) A mythical serpent having a head at each end of its body, able to move in either direction.

ամֆիսբենա

A member of a genus of lizards, native to the Americas, having extremities which are very similar.

amphisbène

any of the genus Amphisbaena of legless lizards


krait

Borrowed from Hindi करैत (karait), possibly from Kurukh.

On visiting the General Hospital, on the morning of the 22nd of August, I was informed that one of the punkah coolies had been bitten about 8.30 p.m., the night before, by a krait, whose venom is virulently poisonous.

1871 December, Dr. J. Ewart, “How the bite of snakes―supposed to be poisonous―may be cured”, in The Australian Medical Gazette:

Now, if you run into one of these kraits, you better NOT run away else you're a goner. It'll catch you for sure and you will die in your tracks.

2007, A. Philip Parham, Feeling Free, page 190:

Very much in my thoughts is Joe Slowinski, a herpetologist killed a few years earlier by a misidentified juvenile krait, a snake so small that he couldn't tell if the fang had punctured the skin.

2009, Kate Jackson, Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo, page 295:

India has a healthy share of poisonous snakes, including kraits, cobras, and two species of vipers, yet Hindu traditions are overwhelmingly snake-friendly.

2011, Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions, page 71:

Any of several brightly-coloured, venomous snakes, of the genus Bungarus, of southeast Asia.


theropod

Any bipedal carnivorous dinosaur, of the suborder Theropoda, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.


gigantoraptor

A gigantic birdlike theropod dinosaur, Gigantoraptor erlianensis, from the late Cretaceous period of China


coelurosaurian

Any dinosaur of the taxonomic group Coelurosauria


cotylosaur

(paleontology, dated) A member of the Cotylosauria, a synonym of the family †Captorhinidae, the earliest group of true reptiles from the Carboniferous through the Permian.


mossback

From moss + back (in senses 1 (“person with old-fashioned views; one who is very conservative or reactionary”) and 2.3 (“fish that is large and old”) probably a variant of mossyback, which is attested earlier), alluding to someone or something that is so old or has remained so unmoving that it is as if moss has grown on them or it.
Sense 2.4 (“largemouth bass”) may refer to the back of the fish being a dark green colour.

(informal, historical) A person who stayed hidden to evade conscription (especially by the Confederate States Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865); a mossyback.


ichthyosaur

/ˈɪkθiəsɔːɹ/

Any of several fishlike marine reptiles of the extinct order †Ichthyosauria of the early Triassic to the late Cretaceous period, that had a body somewhat like a porpoise.


red-eye

en-noun

red-eye (countable and uncountable, plural red-eyes)

The noun is derived from red + eye; sense 2.3 (“strong but poor-quality whiskey”) and sense 3 (“overnight airplane flight”) are probably so named because they may cause people to develop bloodshot eyes.
The verb is derived from the noun.

Agkistrodon contortrix Linnaeus.—Cotton-mouth, Highland Moccasin, Rattlesnake Pilot, Red-eye.

[1905, F. N. Notestein, “The Ophidia of Michigan with an Analytical Key”, in Seventh Report of the Michigan Academy of Science: […], Lansing, Mich.: Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., state printers, →OCLC, page 120:

(countable) Any of various animals that have red eyes.

(US) Either of two subspecies of the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), a venomous pit viper native to the United States: either the broad-banded copperhead or Texas copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus), or the highland moccasin or northern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen).


ceratopsid

Any member of the family †Ceratopsidae of dinosaurs.


psittacosaurus

Coined in 1923 by Henry Fairfield Osborn from Ancient Greek ψιττακός (psittakós, “parrot”) + Ancient Greek σαύρα (saúra, “lizard”), due to its parrot-like beak

der

Any of several dinosaurs, of the genus Psittacosaurus, that lacked horns


psittacosaurid

en-adj

psittacosaurid (comparative more psittacosaurid, superlative most psittacosaurid)

more psittacosaurid (comparative)
most psittacosaurid (superlative)

From the taxonomic name for the family, itself derived from the name of the type genus Psittacosaurus, coined in 1923 by Henry Fairfield Osborn from Ancient Greek ψιττακός (psittakós, “parrot”) + Ancient Greek σαύρα (saúra, “lizard”), due to its parrot-like beak.


psittacosaur

Any dinosaur of the family Psittacosauridae; a psittacosaurus.


allosaurus

en-noun

allosaurus (plural allosauri or allosauruses)

allosauri (plural)
allosauruses (plural)

From Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos, “other, different”) + σαῦρος (saûros, “lizard”).

der

A large, carnivorous dinosaur, of genus Allosaurus, that lived in the Jurassic period.


dromaeosaurid

(paleontology) A bird-like theropod dinosaur of the family Dromaeosauridae.


terrapene

Any of several large turtles of the genus Terrapene, the box turtles.


geochelone

Any of several large tortoises of the genus Geochelone.


tokay

The tokay gecko, a spotted lizard native to Asia and some Pacific islands.


chelonian

en-adj

chelonian (comparative more chelonian, superlative most chelonian)

more chelonian (comparative)
most chelonian (superlative)

Chelonian eggs may be leathery or parchment-shelled that indent easily when laid and expand due to water uptake during incubation; harder-shelled but expansible eggs which behave much like parchment eggs during incubation; and brittle-shelled eggs which do not indent when laid and usually take up little or no external water during incubation (Ewert, 1979, 1985; Kuchling, 1999).

2004, Don Moll, The Ecology, Exploitation and Conservation of River Turtles, page 46:

Of, relating to, or belonging to the order Chelonia (Testudines), which includes the turtles and tortoises.


chelonian

A reptile of the order Chelonia (Testudines).


leopard gecko

The markings on its body resemble those of a leopard.

A nocturnal ground-dwelling gecko, Eublepharis macularius.


worm lizard

Most species of worm-lizard still retain remnants of their pelvis and pectoral girdle (hips and shoulders), but only four species from Mexico out of the 180 currently known around the world still have functioning forelimbs.

2016 July 13, Elsa Panciroli, “How did legless worm-lizards cross the Atlantic?”, in The Guardian:

Any of many small limbless burrowing tropical squamate reptiles, of the family Amphisbaenidae or of the superfamily or suborder Amphisbaenia, that resemble worms.


thagomizer

/ˈθæɡ.ə.maɪ.zəɹ/

Coined by cartoonist Gary Larson in 1982. His comic strip (image on the right) shows a caveman giving a lecture illustrating this part of a dinosaur, with the caption "Now this end is called the thagomizer... after the late Thag Simmons". See -ize, -er.

coinage

Like the thagomizer of the stegosaur, the ankylosaurid tail club was probably used to smash into attackers.

2001, Thomas R. Holtz with Terry Riley, The Little Giant Book of Dinosaurs, page 54:

An Allosaurus backbone had a hole in which a Stegosaurus thagomizer fitted perfectly. Over the years, many of the fossil thagomizers that have been dug up have had broken tips.

2008 August 1, Gary Jeffrey, Stegosaurus: The Plated Dinosaur, Rosen Publishing Group, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 30:

"Not like that," Snap growled, raising her four fists, swishing her thagomizer around threateningly.

2008 September 17, L. E. Simmons, The Lady of Gold (SnapDragon Adventures 1), 1st edition, Lulu.com, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 135:

An arrangement of spikes found on the tails of various stegosaurs.


aetosaur

(paleontology) Any of an extinct group of heavily armoured herbivorous archosaurian reptiles, of the order †Aetosauria.


green anole

An arboreal lizard, Anolis carolinensis, native to the southeastern United States

североамерика́нский красного́рлый ано́лис


hawksbill turtle

en-noun

hawksbill turtle (plural hawksbill turtles)

The turtle's head has a sharply hooked beak, supposed to resemble the bill of a hawk.

A sea turtle species (Eretmochelys imbricata).


jabuti

From Brazilian Portuguese jabuti, from Old Tupi îaboti.

The deer gave up the race to the jabuti. The deer then offered to have a trial of strength with the jabuti.

1879, Herbert Huntington Smith, Brazil, the Amazons and the Coast, page 545:

Again, the rabbit would try harder, run faster, and pass the jabuti once more, but no matter how hard he tried or how fast he ran, when he came around the corner, again and again the jabuti was in the lead.

1977, Roberta C. Wigder, Brazil Rediscovered, Dorrance Publishing Company:

The Jabuti is identical with Brother Terrapin. The man carried the Jabuti to his house, put him in a box, and went out. By and by the Jabuti began to sing, just as Brother Babbit did. The man's children listened, and the Jabuti stopped.

1881, Joel Chandler Harris, Nights with Unlcle Remus:

The most popular of all is the jabuti (or Yauti, as it is pronounced in the Tupy language). It is a large turtle, much appreciated as food. Short-legged, slow, weak, and silent, the jabuti in the Amazon tradition is like the fox in the European tales.

2006(?), Livia de Almeida, Ana Portella, Brazilian Folktales, Libraries Unlimited

A Brazilian tortoise, especially a yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus).


saltie

1998, Romulus Whitaker, Zai Whitaker, Crocodile Fever: Wildlife Adventures in New Guinea, Orient Longman, India, page 8,
‘Salties’ typically live in and around the coastal mangroves but are not uncommon hundreds of kilometres inland. A saltie grows to around seven metres in length and is the main Asian crocodile responsible for attacks on humans.

They like to spend their time in freshwater rivers in coastal waters. Saltwater crocodiles are fiercely territorial and fully mature male salties force younger and smaller salties into the ocean where they have to search for river systems.

2010, Lindsay Marsh, Dangerous Aussie Animals, page 40:

It is feared by those who live near it. For its part, the saltie fears nothing — except a larger crocodile.

2010, Nancy Cushing, Kevin Markwell, Snake-Bitten: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park, page 94:

For their part, the others had been earnestly pointing out that there were in fact two types of crocodiles, saltwater and freshwater, and that only the salties were dangerous.

2011, A.J. Mackinnon, The Well at the World′s End, page 104:

(Australia, informal) A saltwater crocodile.


thunder lizard

The footprints have already settled one old argument about the Thunder Lizard's habits. Scientists had once argued that the animal's legs could not have supported its tremendous bulk on land and that it was only capable of swimming.

1952, “The Trail of the Thunder Lizard”, in Life, volume 33, number 21, page 67:

(informal) The apatosaurus or brontosaurus.


triceratops

triceratops (plural triceratops or triceratopses)

triceratops (plural)
triceratopses (plural)

From translingual Triceratops, from Ancient Greek τρεῖς (treîs, “three”) + κέρας (kéras, “horn”) + ὤψ (ṓps, “face”).

Common name of the extinct genus Triceratops; herbivorous ceratopsids from the late Cretaceous.


apatosaurus

apatosaurus (plural apatosauruses or apatosauri)

apatosauruses (plural)
apatosauri (plural)

From Ancient Greek ἀπάτη (apátē, “trick, deception”) + -saurus, due to initial confusion over the analysis of the vertebral elements.

der

The American Museum of Natural History’s dinosaur collection is currently under wraps, awaiting the completion of its new display space. The world-renowned collection of saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, apatosauri, and other fossilized vertebrates (does that include Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms?) will soon be showcased in six new halls on the fourth floor.

1994, Joseph Downton, Eva Leonard, Detour’s New York: The Alternative Guide, Sacramento, Calif.: Detour Publications, →ISBN, page 284, column 2:

In 2342, the fossils were rediscovered during a dig organized by the Atlantic Paleo-Genetic Reclamation Project of the Intersolar Terraforming Commission. They were just the sort of raw material that the Project was looking for. / The Commission had set up a planet that was perfect for millet farming. But the soil there was very rocky. They envisioned the use of customized, vocalizing apatosauri as plow animals.

1997, Stepan Chapman, The Troika, Tallahassee, Fla.: Ministry of Whimsy Press, →ISBN, pages 185–186:

Two ivy-covered dinosaur topiaries, which had formerly decorated the lawn near the Pacific Science Center (see p11) at Seattle Center, now grace Fremont’s narrow Ship Canal Park. To save them from extinction, History House and a group of Fremont artists purchased these in 1999 for $1. The mother, 66-ft (20-m) long, and young apatosauri are now sanctioned by the city and fully integrated into the crazy quilt of what is virtually a neighborhood-wide sculpture garden.

2005, DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide: Seattle, London: Dorling Kindersley Limited, →ISBN, page 82, column 2:

A large sauropod dinosaur of the genus Apatosaurus of the late Jurassic Period, having a long neck and tail and a relatively small head.


corn snake

A species of rat snake, Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (syn. Elaphe guttata guttata.


ophiology

From ophio- (“snake”) + -logy (“study of”).

(zoology) The study of snakes, a branch of herpetology.


brachiosaur

Any of several massive, herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs, of the genus Brachiosaurus, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.


chuckwalla

Borrowed from Spanish chacahuala, from either Shoshone tcaxxwal or Cahuilla cháxwal.

An iguana, of the genus Sauromalus, living in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.


sanda

bor

Hindi सांडा (sāṇḍā)

The sanda is easily caught by a horse-hair noose placed over the opening of his burrow, which is always of uniform shape, and the exact size of what would be a mid-section of the reptile. The sanda is in great repute as a resotorative and aphrodisiac, and even high caste Hindus, such as Brahmans and Rajpats, boil them down into a strong soup.

1893, North Indian Notes and Queries - Volume 3, page 99:

Bhantus catch the sanda, or broad-tailed lizard, which dwells in rat-holes in the ground and lives always in fear of the cobra, in the following manner: — The Sansi sallies forth with a wooden mallet in one hand and a tuft of tough grass in the other. On his belly he wriggles up to the sanda's hole, rustling the tuft of grass with a noise which resembles the crackling of a snake's scales. The sanda comes up tail foremost, and blocks the orifice with his pachydermatous appendage. The Sansi then delivers a crushing blow with the mallet on the earth an inch or two on the inside of the sanda, closes the passage, cuts off retreat, extracts the lizard and stuffs it into his shirt.

1913, Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, page 122:

A favourite prey species is the sanda or spiny-tailed lizard.

1997, Valmik Thapar, Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent, →ISBN:

A desert reptile, Saara hardwickii, a type of spiny-tailed lizard.


twig snake

a venomous snake from the genus Thelotornis.


alligatorid

This species is large compared with known Eocene alligatorids, although its character states present a mosaic of resemblances to earlier and later alligatorids.

1956, Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, volume 31, page 554:

Although most alligatorids have ventral osteoderms, the American alligator usually has only poorly developed single osteoderms in the pectoral and midventral regions, if at all (Fig. 6C and D).

1989, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Crocodiles: Their Ecology, Management, and Conservation, page 24:

The oldest alligatorid, Navajosuchus mooki, is from the lowermost Paleocene (66-62 Ma).

2009, S. Blair Hedges, Sudhir Kumar, The timetree of life, →ISBN, page 403:

(zoology) Any reptile of the family Alligatoridae; a caiman or alligator.


gharial

/ˈɡɛə.ɹi.əl/

From Hindi घड़ियाल (ghaṛiyāl). Doublet of gavial.

Placed in a family by itself, the Gavialidae, the gharial has long been separated from the rest of the crocodilian stock, with the possible exception of Tomistoma (Densmore 1983).

1992, John B. Thorbjarnarson, Harry Messel, F. Wayne King, James Perran Ross, editors, Crocodiles: An Action Plan for Their Conservation, page 112:

We crossed the Rapti at Bijlipur, three miles from Balrampur, over a pontoon bridge, from where we would often see marsh crocodile and gharial lying on the sandbanks with their mouths open, absorbing the solar heat.

1993, Arjan Singh, The Legend of the Maneater, page 8:

1996, M. V. Subba Rao, Nesting Behaviour of the Indian Crocodiles, Gavialis gangeticus, Crocodylus plaustris and Crocodylus porosus (Reptilia: Crocodylidae), Geethabali R. Ramamurthi, Readings in Behaviour, page 213,
Gharials, Gavialis gangeticus are the inhabitants of deep, fast flowing rivers.

The gharial breathes air into its lungs, like caimans, alligators, and crocodiles. It can hold its breath and stay underwater for a long time—more than half an hour. Gharials can also hunt underwater. They even eat their food there.

2010, Steve Parker, Crocodiles, page 18:

One of the goals of our river expedition was to locate gharial. Gharial help crocodilians lay claim to being the ugliest reptiles, and perhaps the most ancient.

2013, Eric Dinerstein, Discovering Big Cat Country: On the trail of tigers and snow leopards, unnumbered page:


Big Bend patchnose snake

en-noun

Big Bend patchnose snake (plural Big Bend patchnose snakes)

A snake, Salvadora deserticola, from the Big Bend area of Texas


patchnose snake

patchnose snake (plural patchnose snakes)

Any snake in the genus Salvadora, characterized by having a distinctive scale on the tip of their snout.


diamondback rattlesnake

diamondback rattlesnake (plural diamondback rattlesnakes)

Crotalus atrox
Crotalus atrox#Translingual

Either of two venomous rattlesnakes, of the genus Crotalus, from southern United States and Mexico, that have diamond-shaped markings on their backs: Crotalus adamanteus and Crotalus atrox.


pine woods snake

pine woods snake (plural pine woods snakes)

A slender brown snake, Rhadinaea flavilata, from southeastern from United States


colubrid

From translingual Colubridae, from the genus translingual Coluber, from Latin coluber (“snake”).

Any snake in the family Colubridae, completely covered in scales and mostly nonvenomous.


Texas blind snake

Texas blind snake (plural Texas blind snakes)

A blind snake, Leptotyphlops dulcis, from southwestern North America