Reptiles Notes

Introduction
o The king cobra of Southeast Asia is a reptile. When it encounters a
predator it flattens its neck and rears up. The response to a predator is
a contrast to the gentle way a female protects its eggs. The female
builds a nest of grass and leaves on the forest floor. She will lay her
eggs inside the nest and guard them until they hatch.
Reptile
o A reptile is an ectothermic vertebrate that has lungs and scaly skin. In
addition to snakes, lizards, turtles, and alligators and also reptiles.
Unlike amphibians reptiles can spend their entire life on land. Reptiles
were first vertebrates that were well adapted to live on land, and they
were dominant land animals for about 160 million years.
Eggs
o The eggs of reptiles and fertilized internally. While they are still inside
the body of the female, fertilized eggs are covered with membranes
and a shell. Unlike an amphibians egg, a reptiles egg has a shell and
membranes that protect the developing embryo and help keep it from
drying out. Since their eggs conserve water, reptiles can lay their eggs
on land. One membrane holds the liquid that surrounds the embryo
keeping it from getting crushed. A second membrane holds the yolk,
which provides the embryo with the food its cells must have to grow. A
third membrane holds the embryos wastes.
Skin and Kidneys
o Reptiles have dry, tough skin covered with scales. This protects
reptiles and helps keep water in their bodies. Kidneys help filter
wastes from the blood. The wastes are excreted in a watery fluid
called urine. The kidneys of reptiles concentrate the urine so that they
lose very little water.
Obtaining Oxygen
o Most reptiles breathe entirely with lungs. Reptiles have two loops in
which their blood circulates through their bodies. In the first loop, the
blood travels from the heart to the tissues of the body. In the tissues,
oxygen moves out of the blood and carbon dioxide moves into it.
Blood then returns to the heart.
Lizards
o Most reptiles today are either lizards or snakes. They share two
important characteristics. Both have skin covered with overlapping
scales. As lizards and snakes grow, they shed their skins, replacing the
worn scales with a new coat. Most lizards and snakes live in warm
areas. Lizards have four legs, usually with claws on the toes. Most
lizards are carnivores that capture food by jumping at it.
Snakes
o Snakes move by contracting, or shortening, bands of muscles that are
connected to their ribs and backbones. All snakes are carnivores and

their jaws can spread widely apart. The bones in its skull can let it
swallow an animal much larger in diameter than itself.
Turtles
o A turtle is a reptile whose body is covered by a protective shell, which
is made from the turtles ribs and backbone. Some turtles shells can
cover the whole body. Soft shelled turtles lie in stream beds concealed
from predators, with only their nostrils and eyes above the sand. Most
turtles have razor sharp beaks adapted for capturing and killing prey.
Alligators and Corcodiles
o They are the largest living reptiles on earth. Alligators have broad,
rounded snouts, with only a few teeth visible. Crocodiles have pointed
snouts, and you can see most of their teeth. They are carnivores that
hunt mostly at night. They have several adaptations to help them
capture prey. They use their strong, muscular tails to swim rapidly
through the water. Their jaws are equipped with many large, sharp,
and pointed teeth. Their jaw muscles are extremely strong when biting
down. They care for their eggs and newly hatched young. After laying
eggs the female protects the nest.