Reptiles

Class Reptilia
Reptiles: Biological
Contributions
• First truly terrestrial vertebrates… transition on
to land was successful
• Presence of claws to enhance locomotion on

land
• Dry scaly skin to minimize desiccation
• Fertilization internal, leathery and amniotic

eggs
• Excretion of dry nitrogenous waste
• ~7000 species worldwide

Reptiles
• Mesozoic era - age of reptiles
• Dominant animal group during the Mesozoic

era
• Dominance lasted for >150 millions years
• Ended during the ice age
• About 12 principal groups of reptiles evolved
• Only 4 groups remain today

Order Squamata
• Snakes and lizards
• >5800 species
• Most successful
group
Order Crocodilia
• Crocodiles,
alligators, caimans,
gavials
• ~25 species
• Have survived for

200 million years
• Today: concerns that

humans may drive
them to extinction
Order Chelonia (Testudines)
• Turtles, tortoises,
terrapins
• ~330 species
• Ancient group that

survived, remained
mostly unchanged
from early
ancestors
Order Rhynchocephalia
• Snout head or
Tuatara
• Only 1 species
• From New Zealand -

sole surviving species
of ancestral stock
Reptilian Characteristics
• Tough, dry scaly skin
• Protection against desiccation, physical

injury
• Thin epidermis shed periodically
• Much thicker dermis with

chromatophores
• Scales made of keratin material

(epidermal)
• Not homologous to bony, dermal fish scales
• Turtles add new layers of keratin under old

layers of the plate-like scutes (modified
scales)
• Dermis converted into snakeskin, alligator

leather for shoes, purses, etc
• Crocodilian scales remain throughout
life
• Grow gradually to replace wear
• In snakes and lizards, new scales grow

beneath old
• Old scales shed with old skin

Shedding/Molting
• Lizards split skin
and leave it right
side out, or slough
it off in pieces
• Snakes turn old

skin (scales,
epidermis) inside
out when shedding
Amniotic Egg
Chorio-allantoic
membrane
Amniotic Egg
• Reptiles are able to lay their eggs in
sheltered locations on land
• Young hatch as lung-breathing juveniles,

not aquatic larvae
• Amniotic egg widened division between

amphibians and reptiles
• Probably greatly contributed to decline of

amphibians and rise of reptiles
Reptile Jaws
• Reptile jaws designed for crushing prey
• Fish, amphibian jaws designed for quick

closure, but little force after
• Reptile jaw muscles larger, longer,

arranged for better mechanical
advantage
Reptile Copulatory Organ
• Copulatory organ permitting internal

fertilization
• Internal fertilization required for a

shelled egg
• Copulatory organ formed from an

evagination of cloaca
Reptile Circulation
Reptile Circulation
• 3-chambered heart
– 2 auricles, 1 ventricle
• Crocodilians have two

completely separated
ventricles
• All reptiles have two

functionally separate
circulations
• More efficient circulatory

system, higher blood
Reptile Respiration
• Improved lungs
• Depend almost exclusively

on lungs for gas exchange
• Supplemented by
pharyngeal membrane
respiration in some aquatic
turtles
• Lungs have larger

respiratory surface than in
amphibians
• Air sucked into lungs rather

then forced in by buccal
muscles
Reptile Excretion
• Kidneys more
advanced
(metanephric)
• Very efficient at
conserving water
• Excretes uric acid

(rather than urea,
ammonia)
– A semisolid paste
Better Body Support
• Limbs better design for walking on land
• More ventral, less lateral
• Many dinosaurs walked on only hindlimbs

Nervous System
• Much more advanced - relatively larger cerebrum
• CNS connections more advanced

– permit complex behaviors not found in amphibians
Nervous System
• Sense organs generally well-developed
• Hearing generally poorly developed in

Order Chelonia
• Turtles, tortoises,
terrapins
•
• Very ancient group
• Little change in
morphology since
Triassic period
• Body enclosed in shell
• Dorsal carapace
• Ventral plastron
Order Chelonia
• Thoracic vertebrae
and ribs built into
shell
• Shell of two layers

– Inner of bone
– Outer of keratin
• New keratin deposited

under old as turtle
grows, ages
• Jaws lack teeth

– Equipped with tough,
horny plates for
gripping, chewing food
Order Chelonia
• Turtles are
oviparous
• Fertilization is
internal, and all
species bury eggs
in ground in nests
– 4 to >100 eggs
Order Chelonia
Order Squamata
• “characterized by
scales”
• Lizards, snakes, worm

lizards
• Most recent products of

reptile evolution
• Most successful - 95%

of known living species
of reptiles
Order Squamata
• Lizards began
diversification when
dinosaurs began
extinction
• Were successful
because of adaptability
• Adopt various body

forms, occupy various
habitats
Order Squamata
• Snakes probably arose
from group of certain
species of monitor lizards
– but fossil record poor
• Legless character
apparently evolved as
adaptation to burrowing
lifestyle
• Snakes since have

radiated into terrestrial,
aquatic, arboreal niches
Order Squamata
• Two adaptations
characterize snakes:
• Extreme body
elongation
– displacement,
rearrangement of organs
• Highly mobile &

collapsible jaws
– swallow prey larger than own
diameter
Order Squamata
• Two suborders:
• Sauria - lizards
– “lizard”
• Serpentes - snakes
– “to creep”
Lizards
• Very diversified group (3300 species)
• Terrestrial, burrowing, aquatic, arboreal,

aerial
• Many familiar groups:
• Lizards; Geckos, Skinks, Komodo dragon (largest

lizard)
Iguana
– the only marine lizard
Chameleon
– Tongue flicked to greater distance than body length
– Prehensile tail, Zygodactylous feet, Independently
moveable eyes elevated on cones
Lizards
• Parental care
• Many lizards
remain with eggs
or nest site
• Little if any care

given after young
hatch or are born
Suborder Serpentes -
Snakes
• 2300 species
• 10 cm long up to
10 m long
• Highly specialized
body form
Snakes
• Entirely limbless
• Lack pectoral, pelvic

girdles (except vestige of
latter in pythons, boas)
• Short, wide vertebrae

for quick lateral
undulations
• Ribs improve rigidity

Snakes
• Rearranged internal anatomy
– Left lung reduced or absent
– Gall bladder posterior to liver
– Right kidney anterior to left
– Gonads similarly displaced
• Little modification for various lifestyles:

– Elongate for arboreal
– Shorten for burrowing
– Broaden for swallowing big prey
– Compress laterally for swimming
Snake Sense Organs
• Olfaction important, but
not in nostrils
• Jacobson’s organs
(vomero-nasal organs)
• Tongue carries scent

particles to organ
• Pit organs for heat-

detection
• Permanent translucent
eye-lids
Snake Feeding
• Skull, jaws highly
specialized for feeding
• Eat prey several times

their own diameter
• Non-joined mandibles
• Loose skull bones
• Tracheal opening far

forward between
mandibles
Snake Feeding
• Prey swallowed
head first
• Pulled in by teeth,
jaws, alternating
side-to-side
• Contractions of
neck muscles force
prey down digestive
tract
Snake Feeding
• Venom - toxic
concentrations in
saliva
• Neurotoxic -
blindness,
paralysis
• Hemolytic -
ruptures blood
vessels, cells
Snake Feeding
• Poisonous snakes in 4
families
• Viperidae - viper, pit vipers

(heat sensitive)
• Elapidae - coral snakes

(inject venom by chewing)
• Hydrophiidae - sea snakes
• Colubridae - rear-fanged -
venom to calm, not kill
Snake Locomotion
• 4 basic types:
• Lateral undulation - S-shaped

path, pressure against surface
irregularities
• Concertina movement - movement

upward or along narrow passages
• Extend forward while bracing S-
shaped loops
• Rectilinear movement - slow,

straight-line movement
• Sidewinding - sandy surfaces,

body thrown forward in loops,
body at 60° angle to line of travel,
1 or 2 parts of body in contact
with ground at once
Snake Reproduction
• Most oviparous - lay
eggs in protected
areas
• Most of remainder
are ovoviviparous
– (including
rattlesnakes)
• Very few viviparous
• Females store sperm

from single mating,
can lay several
clutches over long
Order Crocodilia
• Unchanged for 160
million years
• Crocodiles larger,
more dangerous
than alligators
• Prey drowned,
ripped into pieces
by rapid rolling
• No natural enemies
Order Crocodilia
• Oviparous - lay eggs in
mass of vegetation
• Guarded by mother
• Incubation temperature
determines sex of
alligator hatchlings
– Low - females
– High – males
• 5:1 (M:F) in some areas

Order Crocodilia
• Vocalizations by
hatchlings cause mother
to open next, allow
hatchlings to escape
• Some adults carry young

to water
• Mothers may guard young

in pools for period of time
to protect them from
predators (fish, mammals)
Order Sphenodonta
• Tuatara - single
species in New
Zealand
• Lizard-like, <66 cm
• Lives in burrows
• Slow-growing, long-
lived (77 years)
Order Sphenodonta
• Living fossil - primitive
features identical to
fossilized forms
• Primitive skull structure
• Well-developed parietal
eye with retina, lens on
top of head (non-
functional)

Reptiles

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Class Reptilia

• Presence of claws to enhance locomotion on

• Dry scaly skin to minimize desiccation

• Fertilization internal, leathery and amniotic

• Excretion of dry nitrogenous waste

• ~7000 species worldwide

• Dominant animal group during the Mesozoic

• Dominance lasted for >150 millions years

• Ended during the ice age

• About 12 principal groups of reptiles evolved

• Only 4 groups remain today

• Have survived for

• Today: concerns that

• Ancient group that

• From New Zealand -

• Tough, dry scaly skin

• Protection against desiccation, physical

• Thin epidermis shed periodically

• Much thicker dermis with

• Scales made of keratin material

• Not homologous to bony, dermal fish scales

• Turtles add new layers of keratin under old

• Dermis converted into snakeskin, alligator

• Grow gradually to replace wear

• In snakes and lizards, new scales grow

• Old scales shed with old skin

• Snakes turn old

• Young hatch as lung-breathing juveniles,

• Amniotic egg widened division between

• Probably greatly contributed to decline of

• Reptile jaws designed for crushing prey

• Fish, amphibian jaws designed for quick

• Reptile jaw muscles larger, longer,

• Copulatory organ permitting internal

• Internal fertilization required for a

• Copulatory organ formed from an

• Crocodilians have two

• All reptiles have two

• More efficient circulatory

• Depend almost exclusively

• Lungs have larger

• Air sucked into lungs rather

• Excretes uric acid

• Limbs better design for walking on land

• More ventral, less lateral

• Many dinosaurs walked on only hindlimbs

• Much more advanced - relatively larger cerebrum

• CNS connections more advanced

• Sense organs generally well-developed

• Hearing generally poorly developed in

• Body enclosed in shell

• Shell of two layers

• New keratin deposited

• Jaws lack teeth

• Lizards, snakes, worm

• Most recent products of

• Most successful - 95%

• Adopt various body

• Snakes since have