The Global Status of Reptiles and Causes of Their Decline

Brian D. Todd, John D. Willson, and J. Whitfield Gibbons

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, PO Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA

Abstract: Reptiles have been considered by some to be of "minor importance," and their disappearance has been suggested to "not make much difference one way or the other" (Zim and Smith 1953). Linnaeus himself described reptiles in his 1758 Systema Naturae as "foul and loathsome annimals ... abhorrent because of their cold body ... fierce aspect ... and squalid habitation." Thankfully, such sentiments are increasingly outdated as scientists reveal the significant roles that reptiles play in many ecosystems.