In Pictures: Amazing and Endangered Reptiles

Status: Critically Endangered While protected by law in Madagascar, the critically endangered ploughshare tortoise ('Astrochelys yniphora') sometimes falls prey to human smugglers. It’s among the 25 most endangered turtles in the world. Its name comes from the plough-shaped projection between its front legs. Photographed at Turtle Conservancy, Ojai, California.

Status: Least Concern The brightly coloured veiled chameleon ('Chamaeleo calyptratus') remains still until prey nears, then rocks side to side like a leaf in the wind. It can look in any direction without turning its head. Its colour changes are shows of emotion. Photographed at Rolling Hills Zoo, Salina, Kansas.

Status: Critically Endangered One of the most endangered turtles in the world, the Madagascar big-headed turtle ('Erymnochelys madagascariensis') is exploited by subsistence hunters for food and commonly shipped from Madagascar to Asia in traditional medicine trade. In addition, its habitat is threatened by deforestation and agriculture. Photographed at Houston Zoo, Texas.

Status: Critically Endangered Last seen in the wild in 2009, the Tabasará robber frog ('Craugastor tabasarae') was destroyed by a frog-killing fungus in Panama. The species, reduced to four individuals in captivity with little known to keepers about breeding conditions, is unlikely to survive. Photographed at El Valle Amphibian Conservation Centre, Panama.

Status: Least Concern In the rain forests of Southeast Asia, the rhinoceros snake ('Rhynchophis boulengeri') dwells in trees near water. Its camouflage makes it a powerful hunter. The narrow extension on its nose is flexible and may appear more like a leaf’s tip. Photographed at St. Louis Zoo, Missouri.

Status: Near Threatened A river dweller, the Reimann’s snake-necked turtle ('Chelodina reimanni') is a near-threatened native of Papua New Guinea. Its neck is so long that it isn’t able to fully retract its head into its seven-to-ten-inch shell. Photographed at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia.

Status: Critically Endangered Smaller than others in the species, the Philippine crocodile ('Crocodylus mindorensis') is critically endangered by habitat destruction and local practices such as dynamite fishing. Though protected, only hundreds remain. The males grow to no more than three metres in length; females are shorter. Photographed at Gladys Porter Zoo, Brownsville, Texas.

Status: Least Concern Budgett’s frog ('Lepidobatrachus laevis') of South America stalks prey in standing pools of water during wet seasons. During the winter it burrows into the mud, cocooned in multiple layers of dry skin. When the rains return, the frog comes back to the surface to breed and feed again. Photographed at National Aquarium, Baltimore, Maryland.

Status: Least Concern The dwarf caiman ('Paleosuchus palpebrosus') is the smallest of the alligator family, with males growing only as long as five feet. Inhabiting the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers and wetlands across South America, it dwells in burrows and favours fast-moving water. Photographed at Gladys Porter Zoo, Brownsville, Texas.

Status: Critically Endangered Forever young looking, the axolotl ('Ambystoma mexicanum') is rare in retaining its larval features throughout life. The endangered salamander found solely in lakes near Mexico City keeps its tadpole-like dorsal fins and feathery gills, and it lives as long as 15 years. Photographed at Detroit Zoo, Michigan.

Status: Critically Endangered Believed to be the only living Rabb’s fringe-limbed tree frog ('Ecnomiohyla rabborum'), this one from Panama—nicknamed “Toughie”—resides with several other endangered species in a bio-secure facility known as the frogPOD, a state-of-the-art laboratory that opened in 2008. Photographed at Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia.