Largest order of reptiles

The largest taxonomic order of reptiles is Squamata, comprising 12,072 of all 12,263 reptile species (98.4%) formally recognized as of September 2024, according to the Reptile Database. This taxonomic order contains three extant suborders: Sauria, aka Lacertilia (lizards), Serpentes, aka Ophidia (snakes), and Amphisbaenia (worm lizards). Members are distinguished by their scaled skin, which they moult periodically, and they can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

There are many species of fossorial reptile, i.e., species that exhibit a burrowing lifestyle, which means that they are rarely, if ever, encountered on the surface, spending virtually their entire lives hidden from sight underground. Such species include amphisbaenians (worm lizards), various species of limbless true lizards and also certain snakes, such as blind snakes and so-called burrowing snakes. Consequently, it is likely that there are quite a few species within these specialized categories that have still not been formally discovered and described by science. The same applies for exclusively arboreal reptiles, spending their entire lives high above the ground in trees.