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The reptiles of Australia are widely distributed across the continent. Three of the four orders of reptiles are native to Australia: Testudines, Squamata, and Crocodilia. The only missing extant order is Sphenodontia, containing tuataras, which are endemic to New Zealand. Australia has a large diversity of reptiles, with over 860 species. This is rich in comparison to other continents. For example, North America has approximately 280 species of reptile. The most diverse group includes snakes and lizards. Snakes and lizards are especially diverse in the arid areas of Australia, where diversity of other fauna is generally low.
Australia has a large array of dangerous reptiles. The world's largest reptile, the Saltwater Crocodile is native to Australia. Australia is the only continent where venomous snakes outnumber their non-venomous cousins and seven out of ten of the most venomous in the world are native to Australia.
There are more lizards in Australia than anywhere else in the world. There are 114 species in 18 genera of gecko found throughout the Australian continent. The Pygopodidae is a family of limbless lizards endemic to the Australian region; of the 34 species from eight genera, only one species does not occur in Australia. The Agamidae or Dragon lizards are represented by 66 species in 13 genera, including the unusual Thorny Devil, Bearded Dragon, and Frill-necked Lizard. There are 26 species of monitor lizard, in Australia, where they are commonly known as goannas. The largest Australian monitor is the Perentie, which can reach up to 2 m in length. There are 389 species of skink from 38 genera, comprising about 50% of the total Australian lizard fauna; this group includes blue-tongued lizards.
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