The song was written by Julian Casablancas and produced by Gordon Raphael.

The single cover depicts an alien from the video game Centipede.

[6] The single's B-side was "Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men", a duet between the band's lead singer Casablancas and Regina Spektor.

[7] In October 2011, NME placed "Reptilia" at number 129 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

Instead they chose Jake Scott to shoot the video, which features close shots of the band members' faces, hands, and instruments while performing the song.