Reptile Term paper

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Reptiles are vertebrate, or backboned animals constituting the class

Reptilia and are characterized by a combination of features, none of which

alone could separate all reptiles from all other animals.

The characteristics of reptiles are numerous, therefore can not be

explained in great detail in this report. In no special order, the

characteristics of reptiles are: cold-bloodedness; the presence of lungs;

direct development, without larval forms as in amphibians; a dry skin with

scales but not feathers or hair; an amniote egg; internal fertilization; a

three or four-chambered heart; two aortic arches (blood vessels) carrying

blood from the heart to the body, unlike mammals and birds that only have

one; a metanephric kidney; twelve pairs of cranial nerves; and skeletal

features such as limbs with usually five clawed fingers or toes, at least

two spinal bones associated with the pelvis, a single ball-and-socket

connection at the head-neck joint instead of two, as in advanced amphibians

and mammals, and an incomplete or complete partition along the roof of the

mouth, separating the food and air passageways so that breathing can

continue while food is being chewed.

These and other traditional defining characteristics of reptiles have been

subjected to considerable modification in recent times. The extinct flying

reptiles, called pterosaurs or pterodactyls, are now thought to have been

warm-blooded and covered with hair. Also, the dinosaurs are also now

considered by many authorities to have been warm-blooded. The earliest

known bird, archaeopteryx, is now regarded by many to have been a small

dinosaur, despite its covering of feathers The extinct ancestors of the

mammals, the therapsids, or mammallike reptiles, are also believed to have

been warm-blooded and haired. Proposals have been made to reclassify the

pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and certain other groups out of the class Reptilia

into one or more classes of their own.

The class Reptilia is divided into 6 to 12 subclasses by different

authorities. This includes living and extinct species. In addition, a number

of these subclasses are completely extinct. The subclasses contain about 24

orders, but only 4 of these are still represented by living animals.

Of the living orders of reptiles, two arose earlier than the age of

reptiles, when dinosaurs were dominant. Tuataras, of the order

Rhynchocephalia, are found only on New Zealand islands, whereas the equally

ancient turtles, order Chelonia, occur nearly worldwide. The order

Crocodilia emerged along with the dinosaurs. Snakes and lizards, order

Squamata, are today the most numerous reptile species.

The Rhynchocephalia constitute the oldest order of living reptiles; the

only surviving representative of the group is the tuatara, or sphenodon

(Sphenodon punctatus). Structurally, the tuatara is not much different from

related forms, also assigned to the order Rhynchocephalia, that may have

appeared as early as the Lower Triassic Period (over 2 000 000 000 years

ago). The tuatara has two pairs of well-developed limbs, a strong tail, and

a scaly crest down the neck and back. The scales, which cover the entire

animal, vary in size. The tuatara also has a bony arch, low on the skull

behind the eye, that is not found in lizards. Finally, the teeth of the

tuatara are acrodont - i.e., attached to the rim of the jaw rather than

inserted in sockets.

Chelonia, another ancient order of reptiles,...

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