Most turtles live in freshwater habitats, but many spend time on land, either traveling between bodies of water or hibernating. The females come ashore during warm months to lay eggs. The tortoises are strictly land dwelling, and many inhabit deserts or other arid environments. Alligators and Crocodiles Crocodiles and Alligators Crocodilia Crocodilians. The American and Chinese alligators are the only exclusively Temperate Zone species.
Most crocodilians live in freshwater habitats, though some venture into salt water.
All alligators and crocodiles are capable of at least short overland excursions. The Last of Rhynchocephalia Beaked reptiles. The order of beaked reptiles, Rhynchocephalia, contains a single living family with only one species, the tuatara. Lizardlike animals with a scaly crest, the tuataras are confined to a few rocky islands of New Zealand. They live in underground burrows during the day and emerge to feed at night.