reptiles

• From which group did reptiles evolve?

  Amphibians
• What are the main types of reptiles included in the class Reptilia?

  • tetrapod vertebrates include:
  • Turtles
  • Crocodilians
  • Snakes
  • Amphisbaenas (worm lizards)
  • Lizards
  • Tuatara (hatérie)
  • some are secondarily aquatic
• What is the body structure of reptiles like?


  It is lizard-like, turtle-like, or snake-like, consisting of a head, trunk/thorax, and limbs.
• Body covering of reptiles?

  Skin covered with horny epidermis(watertight), lacks a thick dermal layer, protected by scales, scutes, and bones. Shedding. Chromatophores in skin. may have pores in skin thatproducesecretes.
• body support:

  Fully ossified skeleton.
• What is a unique feature of the muscular system in reptiles?

  It includes intercostals and diaphragm for the first time.
• •Digestive system in reptiles: homodont teeth, venom and saliva glands. Mostly carnivorous.
• What is the primary diet of most reptiles?

  Mostly carnivorous.
• •Respiratory system in reptiles: may have lung sacs, lungs- mostly paired, for the first time differentiated respiratory pathways, some aquatic species have a modified cloaca to exchange gas
• Circulatory system in reptiles: 3 chambered heart (2 artria and 1 ventricle), poikilothermic.
• How does the heart of crocodilians differ from that of other reptiles?

  Crocodilians have a 4 chambered heart, similar to a bird heart.
• •Excretory system in reptiles: paired metanephros (permanent kidney in reptiles, birds, and mammals) . May have a simple bladder. Unable to produce liquid urine (they don´t have the Loop of Henlé – in kidney). Salts are often excreted by nasal and lingual salt glands.
• Why can't reptiles produce liquid urine?

  They lack the Loop of Henlé in their kidneys.
• How do reptiles excrete salts?

  Salts are often excreted by nasal and lingual salt glands.
• •Nervous system in reptiles: larger cerebrum and cerebelum, 12 pairs of cranial nerves (amphibians have 10)
• •Sensory system in reptiles: vomeronasal system -Jakobson´s organ- in the mouth of snakes and lizards – „they taste the air“, dominant smell and sight. Most lack external ears and use electrical tuning to „hear“. Third eye – parietal body in some lizards.
• What is the third eye in some lizards called?

  Parietal body.
• What are the reproductive characteristics of reptiles?

  • Gonochoristic
  • Sexual or asexual reproduction
  • Squamates have a pair of hemipenises
  • Most lay eggs protected by extraembryonic membranes (chorion, amnion, allantois, and shell) also characteristic for birds, mammals – so together they create a group amniota.
  • Oviparous, ovoviviparous, or viviparous
• What are the subclasses and orders of reptiles?

  • Turtles
  • Crocodilians
  • Tuataras
• •Muscular system in reptiles: intercostals and diaphragm for the first time