| rdfs:comment | - This trope is like Somewhere an Ornithologist Is Crying, Somewhere an Entomologist Is Crying, and Somewhere a Paleontologist Is Crying, except with reptiles and amphibians. In other words, this trope is about getting things wrong with reptiles and amphibians. Common errors include: Of course, reality is often ignored due to Rule of Funny, Rule of Cool, etc. Subtrope of You Fail Biology Forever. See also Funny Animal Anatomy and Artistic License. Supertrope of Hollywood Chameleons, Removable Shell, and Reptiles Are Abhorrent. Examples of Somewhere a Herpetologist Is Crying include:
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| abstract | - This trope is like Somewhere an Ornithologist Is Crying, Somewhere an Entomologist Is Crying, and Somewhere a Paleontologist Is Crying, except with reptiles and amphibians. In other words, this trope is about getting things wrong with reptiles and amphibians. Since Most Writers Are Human and therefore mammals, people tend to get most of the facts messed up with these two very distinct lineages, whether by making them all snake-like or entirely green. These errors go as far back as Carolus Linnaeus, who ignorantly tossed reptiles along with amphibians (and a few fish) into Amphibia. Of course, he provided the page quote for Reptiles Are Abhorrent. Common errors include:
* Snakes that can blink. Real snakes have immovable eyelids and therefore cannot blink.
* Portraying all snakes as being venomous, including the snakes that squeeze rather than bite their prey. Not all species of snake are venomous. (You may see the inverse as well: a venomous snake, such as a cobra, constricting prey). This is particularly frequent in video games.
* A snake is defeated by tying it in knots, which, if done forcibly, doesn't account for just how insanely rigid a snake can make itself.
* Showing turtles' carapaces as being removable/a type of clothing/with a little furnished apartment on the inside. In Real Life, a turtle's carapace is as removable as a human's ribcage, if not less so. The carapace is formed from the turtle's ribcage and other skeletal elements fusing together with bony scales.
* Iguanas having sticky tongues and eating insects. Iguanas eat leafy greens, fruits, and vegetables and do not have sticky tongues (although they have been known to eat insects in the wild, doing so typically indicates a dietary deficiency and is purely opportunistic, and not healthy in large quantities).
* Referring to any reptile as "poisonous"; something which will also cause Grammar Nazis to cry. The proper term is "venomous". There are very few poisonous reptiles anywhere in the world, although there are plenty of poisonous amphibians. Poison causes harm when consumed; whereas venom is a modified digestive enzyme that must be injected to be effective. Some types of venom can even be safely consumed.
* Portraying reptiles and amphibians as one and the same, or have the two terms as interchangeable. In reality, reptiles and amphibians are only related superficially, considering that the two lineages separated over 300 million years ago. The closest living relatives to reptiles today are the birds: living descendants of dinosaurs, and therefore part of the reptile group themselves. Of course, reality is often ignored due to Rule of Funny, Rule of Cool, etc. Subtrope of You Fail Biology Forever. See also Funny Animal Anatomy and Artistic License. Supertrope of Hollywood Chameleons, Removable Shell, and Reptiles Are Abhorrent. Examples of Somewhere a Herpetologist Is Crying include:
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