9781422283479

Like people, reptiles find out about the world around them through sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. But these senses don’t always work in the same way. (Would you like to hear through your skin?) And some reptiles have extra-special senses to help them find food or escape enemies fast. Snakes don’t have eardrums. So they can’t hear the same way we do. Snakes have sensitive skin and bones that help them feel vibrations, or small movements, in the ground. They can sense when other animals are approaching, even when they cannot see or hear them. Snakes and some lizards can actually taste smells! They flick their forked tongues in and out to collect tiny amounts of smells in the air or on the ground. Then, the snake puts its tongue on a sensitive patch on the roof of its mouth or around the mouth to identify the smells. This patch is called the Jacobson’s organ.

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A crocodile’s eyes and nostrils are set high on its head. It can see and smell while most of its body is hidden underwater.

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