Characteristics Of Reptiles

KEVIN Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:08 am

Characteristics Of Reptiles What Is a Reptile?Reptiles have been around for 300 million years, and during the age of the dinosaurs, they ruled the Earth. Those days are long gone, and those giants have vanished, but some 6,500 species of reptiles still thrive today. Crocodiles, snakes, lizards, and turtles are all reptiles. Most reptiles live on land, and most lay eggs. They are vertebrates, and, unlike any other animals, are covered in scales. They are cold-blooded, and regulate their body temperature by seeking or avoiding the sun's heat.

Reptiles are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have scaly bodies as opposed to hair or feathers; they represent an intermediate position in evolutionary development between amphibians and warm-blooded vertebrates,

Circulatory System Of Reptile

Most reptiles have closed circulation via a three-chamber heart consisting of two atria and one, variably-partitioned ventricle. There is usually one pair of aortic arches. In spite of this, because of the fluid dynamics of blood flow through the heart, there is little mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in the three-chamber heart.

RespIratory of reptile

All reptiles breathe using lungs. But Lung ventilation is accomplished differently in each main reptile group.

Nervous Of the Reptiles

The reptilian nervous system contains the same basic part of the amphibian brain, but the reptile cerebrum and cerebellum are slightly larger. Most typical sense organs are well developed with certain exceptions most notably the snakes lack of external ears (middle and inner ears are present). All reptilians have advanced visual depth perception compared to other animals.^{[citation needed]} There are twelve pairs of cranial nerves.[1]

Reproducion Of Reptile

Most reptiles reproduce sexually, though some are capable of asexual reproduction. Most reptiles lay amniotic eggs covered with leathery or calcareous shells