A group of living things
Lizards and snakes
Squamata
Snakes are lizards that lost their legs
Its members' last common ancestor lived about 190 million years ago.
You and lizards and snakes last shared an ancestor about 320 million years ago (on 4 December, if life's history were one year).
Snakes are lizards that lost their legs. Lizards and snakes are close relatives, and the line between them can look blurry. Some lizards called sheltopusiks have no working legs, so at first glance they look like snakes.
They live almost everywhere warm enough, on every continent except Antarctica. You can find them in forests, deserts, grasslands, fresh water and the sea. Some climb trees, some burrow underground and some swim, while snakes range from the open ocean to mountains above 3,000 metres.
Sizes run from tiny to giant. The tiniest dwarf geckos are only about 3 centimetres long, about as short as a paperclip, while the largest Komodo dragons can grow to about 3 metres long and weigh about 150 kilograms, about twice as heavy as most grown-ups. Their scales feel dry, not slimy. Many wear greens, browns or bright colours with spots, bands or stripes. Some lay eggs while others give birth to live young.
Longer than a car
Reticulated pythons often reach about 6 metres long, among the longest snakes in the world, longer than a family car.
A tongue that smells
Most lizards and snakes flick the tongue to collect tiny bits from the air and ground, then press them onto a special patch on the roof of the mouth to smell them.
To blink or to stare
Most lizards blink with eyelids and show a round ear hole behind each eye. Snakes have a fixed clear scale over each eye and no outer ears, and sense trembles in the ground through the jaw.