Reptile Gallery

Roman statue of Asclepius

Roman statue of Asclepius. The cult of the deity of Greek medicine, known as Asclepius, dates from the 6th century BC. Asclepius is represented in statues holding a staff around which a serpent twines, a symbol which survives today as a medical emblem. He was taught surgery and the use of drugs by Chiron the centaur. Asclepius was slain by a thunderbolt from Zeus because of complaints the ministrations of Asclepius were reducing the population of Hades (the underworld for the dead). This statue is displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

© SHEILA TERRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

RF - Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) swimming over a coral reef

RF - Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) swimming over a coral reef. Whilst a Predatory bandcheek wrasse (Oxycheilinus digrammus) is hiding underneath the turtle to enable it to sneak closer to small reef fish, its prey. Ras Mohammed National Park, Sinai, Egypt. Red Sea

© www.naturepl.com

Acanthopteri, Actinopterygii, Africa, Animal, Animalia, Bandcheek Wrasse, Bony Fish, Cheek Lined Maori Wrasse, Cheeklined Maori Wrasse, Cheeklined Wrasse, Cheilinus Coccineus, Chelinus Diagrammus, Chelone Imbricata, Chelonia Radiata, Chelonii, Cheloniidae, Coral Reef, Coral Reefs, Critically Endangered, Egypt, Endangered Species, Eretmochelys, Eretmochelys Imbricata, Fish, Hawksbill Turtle, Labridae, Marine, Marine Life, Miispecies, National Park, Nature, North Africa, Northern Africa, Osteichthyes, Oxycheilinus, Oxycheilinus Digramma, Oxycheilinus Digrammus, Perciformes, Percomorphi, Portrait, Protected Area, Ray Finned Fish, Red Sea, Reef, Reefs, Reptile, Reptilia, Reserve, Rf, Rf3, Royalty Free, Saltwater, Sea, Sea Life, Sea Turtles, Sinai, Testitudine, Testudo Imbricata, Threatened, Tropical, Turtle, Underwater, Vertebrate, Water, Wildlife, Wrasses

Tyrannosaurus rex hunting

Tyrannosaurus rex hunting. Computer artwork of a Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur hunting an Ornithomimus dinosaur. T. rex was among the largest carnivorous dinosaurs. It was about 6 metres tall and weighed about 7 tonnes. T. rex lived in North America and Asia during the late Cretaceous period, between 85 and 65 million years ago. The head is heavily built and has the sharp teeth of a predator. T. rex is thought to have scavenged as well as hunted for food. The Ornithomimus dinosaur was about 6 metres long and 2 metres tall. It was an omnivore. It was fast and agile, thought to have been capable of speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour. It lived from 76-65 million years ago

© Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library