Reptile characteristics

Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 23 January 2021
Update Date: 20 November 2024
Anonim
What are the characteristics of Reptiles?
Video: What are the characteristics of Reptiles?

Content

Reptiles are a diverse group of animals. In it we find the lizards, snakes, turtles and crocodiles. These animals inhabit the land and water, both fresh and salty. We can find reptiles in tropical forests, deserts, meadows and even in the coldest areas of the planet. The characteristics of reptiles allowed them to colonize a wide variety of ecosystems.

In this article by PeritoAnimal, we will know the reptile characteristics that make them extraordinary animals, in addition to reptile images awesome!

reptile classification

the reptiles are vertebrate animals which are derived from a group of reptilomorphic fossil amphibians called Diadectomorphs. These first reptiles originated during the Carboniferous, when there was a wide variety of foods available.


Reptile evolution

The reptiles from which today's reptiles evolved are classified into three groups, based on the presence of temporal openings (they have holes in the skull, to reduce their weight):

  • synapsids: reptiles mammal-like and that gave rise to them. They had only a temporal opening.
  • Testudines or Anapsids: gave way to turtles, they do not have temporal openings.
  • diapsids, are divided into two groups: archosauromorphs, which include all species of dinosaurs and which gave rise to birds and crocodiles; and lepidosauromorphs, which originated lizards, snakes and others.

Reptile types and examples

In the previous section, you knew the classification of reptiles that originated the current ones. Today, we know three groups of reptiles and example:


Crocodiles

Among them, we find crocodiles, caimans, gharials and alligators, and these are some of the most representative examples of reptiles:

  • American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
  • Mexican crocodile (crocodylus moreletii)
  • American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
  • Alligator (caiman crocodilus)
  • Alligator-of-the-swamp (Caiman Yacare)

Squamous or Squamata

They are reptiles like snakes, lizards, iguanas and blind snakes, such as:

  • Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis)
  • Marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)
  • Green iguana (iguana iguana)
  • Gecko (Mauritanian tarentola)
  • Arboreal python (Morelia viridis)
  • Blind snake (Blanus cinereus)
  • Yemen's Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus)
  • Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus)
  • Sardão (lepida)
  • Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis)

Testudines

This type of reptile corresponds to turtles, both terrestrial and aquatic:


  • Greek turtle (free test)
  • Russian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldii)
  • Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
  • Common tortoise (caretta caretta)
  • Leather turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
  • Biting Turtle (serpentine chelydra)

Reptile reproduction

After seeing some examples of reptiles, we follow with their characteristics. the reptiles are oviparous animals, that is, that lay eggs, although some reptiles are ovoviviparous, like some snakes, that give birth to fully formed offspring. The fertilization of these animals is always internal. Egg shells can be hard or thin.

In females, the ovaries are "floating" in the abdominal cavity and have a structure called Müller's duct, which secretes the shell of the eggs.

reptile skin

One of the most important features of reptiles is that on their skin there are no mucous glands for protection, only epidermal scales. These scales can be arranged in different ways: side by side, overlapping, etc. The scales leave a mobile area between them, called the hinge, to allow movement. Under the epidermal scales, we find bone scales called osteoderms, whose function is to make the skin more robust.

Reptile skin is not changed in pieces, but in an entire piece, the exuvia. It only affects the epidermal part of the skin. Did you already know this characteristic of reptiles?

reptile breathing

If we review the characteristics of amphibians, we will see that breathing takes place through the skin and the lungs are poorly divided, meaning they don't have many ramifications for gas exchange. In reptiles, on the other hand, this division increases, causing them to produce a certain breathing noise, especially lizards and crocodiles.

In addition, the reptiles' lungs are traversed by a conduit called mesobronchus, which has ramifications where gas exchange takes place in the reptiles' respiratory system.

Reptile circulatory system

Unlike mammals or birds, the heart of reptiles has only one ventricle, which in many species begins to divide, but divides completely only in crocodilians.

heart of crocodilian reptiles

In crocodilians, moreover, the heart has a structure called Paniza hole, which communicates the left part of the heart with the right. This structure is used to recycle blood when the animal is submerged in water and cannot or does not want to come out to breathe, this is one of the characteristics of reptiles that impresses.

Reptile digestive system

Talking about reptiles and general characteristics, the digestive system of reptiles is very similar to that of mammals. It starts in the mouth, which may or may not have teeth, then moves to the esophagus, stomach, small intestine (very short in carnivorous reptiles) and large intestine, which flows into the cloaca.

the reptiles don't chew the food; therefore, those who eat meat produce large amounts of acid in the digestive tract to promote digestion. Likewise, this process can take several days. As additional information about reptiles, we can say that some of them swallow stones of various sizes because they help to crush food in the stomach.

some reptiles have poisonous teeth, such as snakes and 2 species of gila monster lizards, family Helodermatidae (In Mexico). Both lizard species are very poisonous, and have modified salivary glands that are called Durvernoy's glands. They have a pair of grooves to secrete a toxic substance that immobilizes the prey.

Within the characteristics of reptiles, in snakes specifically, we can find different types of teeth:

  • aglyphic teeth: no channel.
  • opistoglyph teeth: located at the back of the mouth, they have a channel through which the venom is inoculated.
  • protoroglyph teeth: located on the front and have a channel.
  • Solenoglyph teeth: present only in vipers. They have an internal duct. Teeth can move from back to front, and are more poisonous.

Reptile nervous system

Thinking about the characteristics of reptiles, although anatomically the reptile nervous system has the same parts as the mammalian nervous system, it is much more primitive. For example, the reptilian brain does not have convolutions, which are the typical ridges in the brain that serve to increase the surface area without increasing its size or volume. The cerebellum, responsible for coordination and balance, does not have two hemispheres and is highly developed, as are the optic lobes.

Some reptiles have a third eye, which is a light receptor that communicates with the pineal gland, located in the brain.

Reptile excretory system

Reptiles, as well as many other animals, have two kidneys that produce urine and a bladder that stores it before it is eliminated by the cloaca. However, some reptiles do not have a bladder and eliminate urine directly through the cloaca, instead of storing it, which is one of the curiosities of reptiles that few people know about.

Due to the way your urine is produced, aquatic reptiles produce too much ammonia, which needs to be diluted with the water they drink almost continuously. On the other hand, terrestrial reptiles, with less access to water, transform ammonia into uric acid, which does not need to be diluted. This explains this characteristic of reptiles: the urine of terrestrial reptiles is much thicker, pasty and white.

Reptile feeding

Within the characteristics of reptiles, we note that they can be herbivorous or carnivorous animals. Carnivorous reptiles can have sharp teeth like crocodiles, venom-injecting teeth like snakes, or a serrated beak like turtles. Other carnivorous reptiles feed on insects, such as chameleons or lizards.

On the other hand, herbivorous reptiles eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs. They usually don't have visible teeth, but they have a lot of strength in their jaws. To feed themselves, they tear off pieces of food and swallow them whole, so it is common for them to eat stones to aid digestion.

If you want to know other types of herbivorous or carnivorous animals, as well as all their characteristics, don't miss these articles:

  • Herbivorous Animals - Examples and Curiosities
  • Carnivorous Animals - Examples and Trivia

Other reptile characteristics

In the previous sections, we reviewed the different characteristics of reptiles, referring to their anatomy, feeding and breathing. However, there are many other characteristics common to all reptiles, and now we'll show you the most curious ones:

Reptiles have short or absent limbs.

Reptiles generally have very short limbs. Some reptiles, like snakes, don't even have legs. They are animals that move very close to the ground. Aquatic reptiles also lack long limbs.

Reptiles are ectothermic animals

Reptiles are ectothermic animals, which means that are not able to regulate their body temperature alone, and depend on the temperature of the environment. Ectothermia is linked to certain behaviors. For example, reptiles are animals that generally spend long periods in the sun, preferably on hot rocks. When they feel that their body temperature has increased too much, they move away from the sun. In regions of the planet where winters are cold, the reptiles hibernate.

Vomeronasal or Jacobson organ in reptiles

The vomeronasal organ or the Jacobson organ is used to detect some substances, usually pheromones. In addition, through saliva, the taste and smell sensations are impregnated, that is, the taste and smell pass through the mouth.

Heat-receiving loreal septic tanks

Some reptiles perceive small changes in temperature, detecting differences of up to 0.03°C. these pits are located on the face, with one or two pairs being present, or even 13 pairs of pits.

Inside each pit there is a double chamber separated by a membrane. If there is a warm-blooded animal nearby, the air in the first chamber increases and the inner membrane stimulates the nerve endings, alerting the reptile to the presence of potential prey.

And since the subject is reptile characteristics, you can already check out the video on our YouTube channel that features an impressive species mentioned in this article, the Komodo dragon:

If you want to read more articles similar to Reptile characteristics, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.