¡@ Reptiles

Taiwan's terrestrial reptiles mostly fall into three main groups: chelonians ( turtles, tortoises and terrapins ),snakes, and lizards. Taiwan has just one species of soft-shelled turtle, while the common freshwater turtles are represented by four species from four genera: the green-headed turtle,the yellow turtle,the golden turtle and the yellow-lined box turtle. There are 45 species of snakes from 29 genera in four families. Of these, eight are endemic. They include Swinhoe's grass snake, the Taiwan chunk-head snake, the black burrowing snake and the Taipei ground snake.
There are some 31 lizard species from 13 genera in five families. Endemic species include the Formosan legless lizard, Japalura swinhonis and Takydromus stejnegeri. The general public has long undervalued reptiles' existence or even regarded them with animosity, and understanding of and research into reptile species has been largely limited to the domain of their economic exploitation. Knowledge of their ecology has been extremely limited. For this reason, TESRI is currently planning a program of research into the ecology and habitats of Taiwan's reptile species and the threats which they face, in order to establish a comprehensive database and to deepen public understanding of and concern for reptiles.