Reptiles and frogs of the Eastern Highlands and heavy mists and dew as moisture moves inland from the Indian Ocean. Many streams and rivers originate in these mountains, which form the watershed between the Zambezi and Save River systems. Reptiles and frogs of the Eastern Highlands The reptiles and frogs of the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and Mozambique mark a biodiversity hotspot for herpetofauna. Diverse frog and reptile communities include endemic species. The Eastern Highlands extend 300 kilometres (190 mi) along Zimbabwe's eastern border with Mozambique. There are two broadly defined high-altitude ecological habitats in the Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest-grassland mosaic; a wet lowland forest ecology predominates
Evolution of reptiles 320–310 million years ago, in the swamps of the late Carboniferous period, when the first reptiles evolved from advanced reptiliomorph labyrinthodonts. The oldest known animal that may have been an amniote, a reptile rather than an amphibian, is "Casineria" (though it has also been argued to be a temnospondyl amphibian). A series of footprints from the fossil strata of Nova Scotia, dated to 315 million years, show typical reptilian toes and imprints of scales. The tracks are attributed to "Hylonomus", the oldest unquestionable reptile known. It was a small, lizard-like animal, about 20 to 30 cm (8–12 in) long, with