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Lizards, Snakes & Reptiles... Oh, My!

DENVER (CBS4)- The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is crawling with some unique reptiles from all over the world.

Some people find them creepy while others are drawn to their prehistoric anatomy.

There are 60 different reptiles from five different continents around the world on display.

CBS4's Justin McHeffey visited the temporary exhibit at the DMNS Wednesday morning where he learned the difference between binocular vision, which humans have, and monocular vision, a trait possessed by the veiled chameleon.

The lizard has skin that changes color and a really long tongue that moves at about 16 feet per second.

"One of my favorite features are his eyes. He has eyes that can look in two different directions at the same time. That's called minocular vision. So if he wants to really focus on something he'll aim both of his eyes at it, but most of the time one is watching me while the other one is watching whatever he wants to watch. It's a pretty cool feature," said DMNS Educator Brian Hostetler.

"He can see both things at the same time which is a really cool adaptation that we don't have. If we tried that we would have major headaches and a lot of problems because we have binocular vision that faces forward all the time. He has the two eyes that look in both directions."

The exhibit is on display through July 8. It is free with regular museum admission.

There are several free days for the museum on the calendar, including May 6, June 17 and July 7.

RELATED LINK: dmns.org

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Justin McHeffey shows off his snake bracelet at the Snakes & Lizards exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. (credit: CBS)
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