Earth's Most Interesting Cold-Blooded Animals Photographed Over 30 Years
Matthijs Kuijpers has spent nearly three decades photographing amphibians and reptiles, and the result is a striking look at some of Earth’s most unusual cold-blooded animals. His work captures color, texture, and detail in species that are often overlooked, or feared.
That long-running project became Cold Instinct, a book built from thousands of images taken around the world. It brings together 70 standout photographs from a portfolio that spans roughly 1,500 species, including many that are endangered.
These images make a strong case for looking at reptiles and amphibians a little differently. Read on.
1. Solomon Island Leaf Frog (Ceratobatrachus guentheri)
2. The Plumed Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons)
3. Matthijs Kuijpers – Cold Instinct, Atelopus spumarius barbotini
The collection only gets more vivid from here.
4. Boophis luteus, Madagascar
5. European Green Lizard (Lacerta viridis) Male
6. Ranitomeya variabilis, Spotted Dart Frog, Peru
7. Ahaetulla mystacinus, Malayan Vine Snake, Malaysia
Some of these species look almost unreal in close-up.
8. Alligator mississippiensis, Albino Alligator, USA
9. Western Green Mamba (Dendroaspis viridis)
10. Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis)
11. Red-Bellied Shortneck Turtle (Emydura subglobosa)
12. Chalcides sexlineatus, Gran Canaria Blue-Tailed Skink, Gran Canaria Island, Canary Islands, Spain
13. Serrated Casquehead Iguana (Laemanctus serratus)
The photographer clearly knows how to find the drama in a still moment.
Nature’s still topping itself, like 13 real animals that look straight out of a fantasy world.
14. Corsican Fire Salamander (Salamandra corsica)
15. Parrotsnake (Leptophis ahaetulla)
16. Atheris hispida, Hairy Bush Viper, DR Congo
17. Leptodactylus laticeps, Coralline Frog, Paraguay
18. Guatemalan Beaded Lizard (Heloderma charlesbogerti)
19. Pantherophis guttata, Two-Headed Snake
This stretch is where the book really leans into the unusual.
20. Phyllomedusa bicolor, Giant Leaf Frog
21. Corallus batesii, Amazon Basin Emerald Tree Boa, Brazil
22. Crocodilus niloticus, Nile Crocodile, Africa
23. Gekko smithii
24. Dendrobates tinctorius azureus, Azure Dart Frog, Suriname
25. White-Lipped Island Pit Viper (Trimeresurus albolabris insularis)
26. Amazonian Horned Frog (Ceratophrys cornuta)
27. Cameroon Dwarf Gecko (Lygodactylus conraui)
28. Trioceros jacksonii, Jackson's Horned Chameleon
29. Lothara's Gecko (Paroedura lohatsara)
30. Collett's Snake (Pseudechis colletti)
31. Tokay (Gekko gecko)
It is hard to scroll past these without stopping.
For more “video game” weirdness, check out the bizarre animals that look straight out of a fantasy movie.
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