Reptiles
ReptilesReptiles 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...
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