What are the three groups of reptiles?
The major groups of living reptiles—the turtles (order Testudines), tuatara (order Rhynchocephalia [Sphenodontida]), lizards and snakes (order Squamata), and crocodiles (order Crocodylia, or Crocodilia)—account for over 8,700 species.
What are the 3 general characteristics of reptiles?
Traits of Reptiles and Amphibians
- Reptiles are vertebrates. They have backbones.
- Their bodies are completely covered with scales.
- They are cold-blooded.
- Reptiles produce shelled eggs or bear live young.
- All species fertilize eggs internally.
- All species of reptiles have at least one lung.
What senses do reptiles have?
Sense Organs The reptile’s senses of sight, smell, and hearing are similar to those of other vertebrates, though the levels of development of these senses vary among reptile groups. Snakes lack ears and can detect only ground vibrations or airborne vibrations of low frequency.
How many groups are reptiles divided into?
four groups
Reptiles generally are divided into four groups: Squamates, turtles, crocodilians and Rhynchocephalians.
What group contains most species of reptiles?
Squamates
Squamates are the most diverse of all the reptile groups, with approximately 7,400 living species. Squamates include lizards, snakes, and worm-lizards.
How are reptiles classified?
Reptiles, as most commonly defined, are the animals in the class Reptilia (/rɛpˈtɪliə/), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid amniotes except Aves (birds). Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians (tuatara).
What are characteristic of reptiles?
Reptiles Are Four-Legged Vertebrate Animals More broadly, reptiles are vertebrate animals, meaning they have backbones housing spinal cords that run down the lengths of their bodies—a characteristic they share with birds, fish, mammals, and amphibians.
How do the reptiles move name a few reptiles?
Reptiles use various forms of locomotion to move from place to place. Although most lizards walk on all fours, some use only their hind limbs when running. Some snakes and legless lizards move by attaching their belly scales to rough surfaces and pulling themselves forward.
How many body parts does a reptile have?
Reptiles are tetrapod vertebrates, creatures that either have four limbs or, like snakes, are descended from four-limbed ancestors.
How are reptiles divided?
A commonly used classification of reptiles divides them into four groups: Crocodilia, Sphenodontia, Squamata, and Testudines.
What are the 4 main reptiles?
The four main reptile groups are the Turtles and Tortoises, Snakes and Lizards, Crocodiles and Alligators, and Tuatara (a single species more primitive than other reptile groups and found only in a group of small islands near New Zealand).
Do reptiles have senses?
A majority of reptiles have an eardrum, middle ear and inner ear, allowing for at least some hearing ability. As in humans, the senses of smell and taste work together. However, in reptiles, these senses are thought to be interrelated and not separate senses.
What are the two major groups of reptiles?
These are divided into two major groups- Archosauria and Lepidosauria. The class Reptilia is further divided into different groups known as orders: This group had one temporal fossa place high up on the skull.
What two characteristics set reptiles apart from their amphibian ancestors?
There two characteristics that early reptiles developed that set them apart from their amphibian ancestors and that enabled them to colonize land habitats to a greater extent than amphibians. These characteristics are scales and amniotic eggs (eggs with an internal fluid membrane).
What are the characteristics of a reptile?
These characteristics are scales and amniotic eggs (eggs with an internal fluid membrane). Reptiles are one of the six basic animal groups. Other basic animal groups include amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, and mammals. Photo © LS Luecke / Shutterstock.