Class Amphibia

Class Reptilia

What characteristic of the reptile allows it to be successful on land?

The Amniotic Egg

Encloses the yolk

A fat-rich food supply

Contains proteins and water needed by embryo

Stores nitrogenous wastes produced by embryo Surrounds all

membranes and cushions developing embryo

Thin membrane enclosing the fluid in which embryo floats

Provides protection from damage and evaporation of water from egg Chick Factory

Developing Chick

CLASSIFICATION OF REPTILES

Classification of Reptiles

Over 5,000 species divided into 4 different orders.

Order Testudines: tortoises, turtles, and terrapins

7 main families:Family

Chelydridae: Includes snapping

turtles Large shell and can

weigh up to 200 lb; carapace is rough with bumpy keels; long tail; powerful jaws.

snapping turtleChelydra serpentina

Order Testudines: tortoises, turtles, and terrapins

Family Kinosternidae:

Includes mud and musk turtles.

Exude smelly excretions from musk glands; have short tails and long necks; bite.

American mud turtlesKinosternon

common musk turtleSternotherus odoratu

Order Testudines: tortoises, turtles, and terrapins

Family Emydidae: Largest turtle family;

includes box turtles, sliders, painted turtles, and terrapins, which inhabit both fresh and brackish waters.

painted terrapinCallagur borneoensis

painted turtleChrysemys picta

Red-eared slider

Order Testudines: tortoises, turtles, and terrapins

Family Testudinidae

The tortoises. Have high,

rounded carapace and heavily-scaled front legs.

red-footed tortoiseGeochelone carbonaria

Order Testudines: tortoises, turtles, and terrapins

Family Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae:

The sea turtles. Limbs modified as

flippers; numbers of all species are in decline because of over-hunting and the collecting of their eggs.

Chelonia mydasgreen sea turtle

leatherback turtleDermochelys coriacea

Order Testudines: tortoises, turtles, and terrapins

Family Trionychidae:

The soft-shelled turtles.

Have a soft, leathery shell; often lie buried in the same with only their eyes and snout exposed.

spiny softshell turtleApalone spinifera

Order Squamata: lizards and snakes

Divided into two different suborders:Suborder Lacertilia – the lizardsSuborder Serpentes – the

snakes

Suborder Lacertilia is composed of 9 main families:

Family Gekkonidae

Gecko lizards Large family of

lizards; have tiny suction cups on the pads of their feet; the only lizards that can utter special calls.

common leopard geckoEublepharis macularius

Suborder Lacertilia: Lizards

Family Chamaeleontidae:

Chameleons High body, flattened from

side to side; slow-moving; each eye can swivel independently of the other; can change color in response to changes in light, temperature, or emotional state.

Elliot's chameleon (Chamaeleo ellioti)

Suborder Lacertilia: Lizards

Family Iguanidae:

Includes iguanas and anoles

Iguanas are herbivores; anoles are carnivores

Common iguana (Iguana iguana)

Banded tree anole (Anolis transversalis)

Suborder Lacertilia: Lizards

Family Teiidae: Whiptailed

lizards. Have long, rough

tails; very active.

desert grassland whiptailCnemidophorus uniparens

Suborder Lacertilia: Lizards

Family Helodermatidae:

The beaded lizards, including the Mexican beaded lizards and the gila monster – the only venomous lizards in the world.

Mexican beaded lizardHeloderma horridum

gila monsterHeloderma suspectum  

Suborder Lacertilia: Lizards

Family Scincidae:

The skinks. Have smooth

scales and small limbs or no limbs at all.

five-lined skinkEumeces fasciatus

Suborder Lacertilia: Lizards

Family Anguidae: Glass lizards and

alligator lizards. Have scales

reinforced by bony plates; glass lizards are legless and shed their long tail, which fractures into several pieces.

Arizona alligator lizardElgaria kingii

glass lizardOphisaurus attenuatus

Suborder Lacertilia: Lizards

Family Amphisbaenidae:

Worm lizards Found in the dry,

sandy parts of Florida; look like earthworms with scales.

Amphisbaena (Leposternon polystegum)

Suborder Lacertilia: Lizards

Family Varanidae: The monitor

lizards, including the Komodo dragon.

The largest lizards alive.

Bengal monitorVaranus bengalensis

Komodo Island monitorVaranus komodoensis

Suborder Serpentes – the snakes

Family Leptotyphlopidae:

Small, slender, blind snakes; eat mostly termites and ants.

Texas slender blind snakeLeptotyphlops dulcis

Suborder Serpentes – the snakes

Family Colubridae: Largest family of snakes (75% of all

snakes); includes garter snakes, green (vine) snakes, rat snakes and kingsnakes.

common garter snake

green vine snake

rat snake

Suborder Serpentes – the snakes

Family Pythonidae: The pythons

Carpet python

ball python

Suborder Serpentes – the snakes

Family Boidae:

The boas.

yellow anaconda

boa constrictorBoa constrictor

Suborder Serpentes – the snakes

Family Elapidae: Includes sea snakes, coral snakes,

cobras, mambas, and tiger snakes. Have a neurotoxin venom.

Black mambascarlet king vs. coral

scarlet king vs. coral

Suborder Serpentes – the snakes

Family Vivperidae: Includes copperheads, cottonmouths (water

moccasins), and 31 species of rattlesnakes. Have fangs and a deep facial pit between the

eye and nostril that can detect heat and a hemotoxin venom.

Cottonmouths black-tailed rattlesnake

What are some of the structures of the Egg and their function?