Reptiles in Early Modern Culture and Natural Philosophy

Synonyms

Amphibians; Creeping things; Herptiles; Serpents

Definition

Reptiles are those animals grouped by modern taxonomy within class Reptilia – crocodilians, lizards, snakes, turtles, tuataras, and amphisbaenians – together with the other animals, real and legendary – frogs, toads, salamanders, fish, dragons, and so on – with which they were grouped in the early modern imaginary.

The Natural History of Reptiles

The modern taxonomic category of “reptiles” (class Reptilia) did not exist in the early modern period: no clear line divided snakes, lizards, crocodilians, and turtles, on the one hand, and frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians on the other. “Reptile” meant “creeping thing,” which might include reptiles, amphibians, insects, cartilaginous fish, and fantastic beasts like dragons and basilisks (Weinreich 2017). In Carl Linnaeus’s Systema naturæ, all these creatures were gathered into class Amphibia (1758–59). Only in the nineteenth century did biology begin to divide...