---
title: Reptiles (Reptilia)
scientific_name: Reptilia
common_name: Reptiles
rank: Class
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-03T21:10:56.454Z
tags: Reptiles, Reptilia, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/reptiles
---

# Reptiles (*Reptilia*)

## Quick facts

- **Rank:** Class
- **Scientific name:** Reptilia
- **Subcategories:** 2

## How to recognise this group

- regular surface trips to breathe air
- body covered in scales or hard bony scutes
- no fins; locomotion by flippers or sinuous body movements

Marine reptiles breathe air and have scaly skin. In the Red Sea, only sea turtles are encountered; sea snakes are absent, likely restricted by cold upwellings off southern Arabia. Sea turtles possess a streamlined body with a bony or leathery carapace, typically measuring 60-120 cm (24-47 in) long. Their four strong, paddle-like flippers cannot be withdrawn into the shell, and their bodies are flattened dorsoventrally, adapting them for aquatic life.

These reptiles frequent shallow reef flats, seagrass beds, and deeper reef slopes, often resting under ledges or in caves. They must surface regularly to breathe, though they can remain submerged for extended periods. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) graze on seagrass and algae, while Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) primarily consume sponges, making both common sightings for divers. Banded snake-like animals encountered are typically snake eels or banded morays.


## Subcategories

- [Sea snakes (Hydrophiinae)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/reptiles/sea-snakes)
- [Sea turtles (Chelonioidea)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/reptiles/sea-turtles)

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/reptiles)*
*Updated: August 3, 2026*