Reptile Test

Describe the Jacobson's organ with respect to location and function.

it detects chemicals (small/ taste) using their forked tongues and Jacobson's organ (pit- like organs in the roof of the mouth)

What is the parietal eye in tuataras?

it is complete with elements of cornea, lens, and retina; although since it is buried beneath opaque shin this "third eye" can register only changes in light intensity

Define kinetic skull as it is used with respect to snakes.

it is modified to have movable joints, specialized for eating large prey

What role does the protein keratin play in allowing reptiles to be land-dwellers?

keratin provides additional protection

Tuataras are ____, lizard like reptiles that live in burrows. Tuatara means "_____ ___" in native New Zealand language; they have this spiny crest running down center of their back. Unlike most reptiles, they are most active as ___ ____/

nocturnal; spiny crest; lower temperatures

What has been the main culprit as far as decreasing tuatara population sizes in their native New Zealand?

humans introduced nonnative animals including rats, cats, dogs, and goats, which prey upon tuataras and their eggs

Describe the unique hunting technique used by the alligator snapping turtle.

it catches many of its prey using an appendage on its tongue that it can wiggle to look like a worm

___spend their time both on land and in water, and live along rivers, ponds, and lakes. Terrapins are often found in brackish, ___areas.

terrapins; swampy

What are the four different membranes from fish and amphibians eggs?

1) Amnion- thin membrane enclosing the fluid in which the embryo floats. This fluid serves to cushion the embryo and prevent dehydration. 2)Allantois - stores metabolic wastes produced by the embryo. 3)Yolk Sac- encloses the yolk, a fat-rich food supply for the developing embryo. 4)Chorion- outermost membrane of the egg; surrounds all other membranes. Helps protect embryo and allows oxygen to enter egg while removing carbon dioxide.

Of the 16 orders of reptiles known to have existed, there are four living orders of Reptiles today (nearly 8,000 species):

1) Order Testudines: Turtles 2) Order Squamata a)Suborder Sauria: Lizards b)Suborder Serpentes: Snakes 3) Order Crocodilia: Crocodiles and Alligators 4) Order Rhynchocephalia (Sphenodonta): Tuataras

Describe 2 unique characteristics of chameleons.

1) they catch insects with a sticky-tipped tongue that can be projected accurately and rapidly to a distance greater than the length of their body. 2)can change colors for protection

Define and describe the 4 types of movements exhibited by snakes (one of the four was mentioned out loud but is not in the notes)

1)Lateral undulations (serpent motion): most common; head moves side to side causing wave of muscular contractions and forwards movement in an S- shaped path 2) Rectilinear Movements (caterpillar movement): a muscular force is applied to the belly so scutes or scales on the belly catch on rough surfaces allowing the snake to moves forward slowly 3) Sidewalking: a sideways movement of the body; used by some desert snakes. The head is vigorously lung side to side; this whiplike motion moves body along 4) Concertina motion: scrunch up body and throw head forward (used for confined spaces)

How does reptile skeleton differ from other vertebrates?

1)Reptiles have several bones in their lower jaw that enable them greater bite mobility. 2) Reptiles have only one bone in each ear (the stapes). Mammals have three. 3) Reptiles also have only one occipital condyle (a protrusion on the skull that forms a joint that enables movement of the head) while mammals and amphibians have two occipital condyles. 4)Skull structure also varies among reptiles and other vertebrates.

Skull structure also varies among reptiles and other vertebrates. There are three main skull designs: ___, _____, ____. Explain each one.

Anapsid: Have no openings behind eye socket; Seen in turtles. Synapsid: Has a single opening, called a fenestra, behind eye socket. Seen in mammals. Diapsid: Have two fenestrae behind eye socket. Seen in all reptiles (except turtles) and birds.

____ are native to Central America and South America but have been introduced in Florida; they resemble alligators.

Caimans

Contrast alligators and crocodiles with respect to their habitat range, head shape, and tooth arrangement.

Crocodiles: found in Africa, Asia, South America, and extreme southern Florida. Long triangle-shaped heads; when mouth is closed you can see the upper and lower teeth showing (teeth vary in size) Alligators: found in China and the southern United States. Wide flat heads with round noses; when mouth is closed only upper teeth are showing (teeth vary on size)

As with any tutles and some lizards, ____ ____ of eggs determines sex ration of the offspring. However, unlike tutles low nest low temperatures produce only females, whereas high nest temperatures produce only mates.

incun=bation temperature

____ (aka Gharials) live only in India & Burma. They are fish eating reptiles with very slender, long snouts. Males have a conspicuous knob at the tip of their snout.

Gavials

Describe venomous lizards

Gila monsters and mexican beaded lizard, and their close relatives, beaded lizards, are the only lizards capable of delivering a venomous bite

Describe reptiles hearts. Whats the difference between pulmonary loop and systemic loop?

Most reptiles have a three-chambered heart and double loop blood circulation. However, crocodilians which require more energy and oxygen, have a four- chambered heart. Pulmonary loop- blood goes from heart to lungs (to pick up oxygen) back to heart Systemic loop- blood goes from heart to body (to deliver oxygen) back to heart

Contrast boas and pythons with respect to habitat/range, reproduction, and size.

Pythons: old world snakes (africa, asia, and europe), oviparous (lay eggs), and larger than boas typically except for the green anaconda Boas: old and new world (north and south america), ovoviviparous, and smaller than pythons.

*History* Where did reptiles evolved from and when?

Reptiles evolved from amphibians during the Carboniferous Period and displaced amphibians in many environments.

How do contrictors kill their prey? What are some examples of constrictors? Which snakes are venomous?

Snakes have various ways of killing their prey: Constrictors wrap body around prey & squeeze them to death. Common constrictors include Boas, Pythons, Anacondas. Exmpales of poisonous ones are cobra, viper, copperhead, and rattle snake.

What period is the :Age of Reptiles" and why?

The Mesozoic Era (245 to 65 million years ago) is often called the "Age of Reptiles"; This is when reptiles were most diversified and dominant.

A unique adaptation found in crocodilians and mammals, is a complete secondary palate. What did this secondary palate allow crocidiles and alligators to do?

This innovation pushed the internal nares to the posterior, allowing a crocodilian to breathe when its mouth is filled with water or food.

____ are ____-dwelling and tend to have ____-shaped shell to retract their head & limbs. They have thick sturdy legs and ____ for moving on land and eats low-growing shrubs, grasses, and even cactus. Land tortoises are slow; some of them walk at only 0.5 miles per hour. Tortoises that live in hot, dry habitats use their strong forelimbs to dig ____. Then, when it's too hot in the sun, they slip underground.

Tortoises; land; dome; feet; burrows

What's good about reptiles skin? What is it made of?

Tough, dry scaly skin that offers protection against desiccation (drying out) and physical injury. Skin has a keratinized epidermis and a thick, collagen-rich dermis with chromatophores for color and lipids to prevent drying out. Reptiles have a unique form of keratin called beta keratin to provide additional protection.

What type of reproduction do turtles have? Explain where turtles put their eggs, and how tmeperature affects the sexes.

Turtles are oviparous. Fertilization is internal and all turtles, even marine forms, bury their shelled, amniotic eggs in the ground. Turtles are very careful while constructing their nest, but once eggs are deposited and covered, the female deserts them.An interesting feature of turtle reproduction is that in some turtle families, as in all crocodilians and some lizards, nest temperature determines sex of the hatchlings. In turtles, low temperatures during incubation produce males and high temperatures produce females.

How do alligators ans crocidiles kill their prey?

Usually capture prey by floating just beneath the surface of water near shore and exploding out of water when an animal comes to drink. When they seize the prey they bring them back into the water to drown and eat them.

Describe leggless lizards

a few such as glass lizards are completely limbless

What is the mostwide spread turtle species in Africa? It's a hunter-scavenger that hunts in packs and seems happy to eat most anything, from parasites lodged in the skin of rhinoceroses to young birds and small mammals. It is well known for its terrible smell; it has four glands, one under each leg, which release a foul-smelling liquid seems to repulse horses as well as humans.

african helmeted turtle

Reptile eggs also contain ____, which is additional protein and water; this is like the egg white of a chicken egg. Most amniotic eggs are surrounded by a mineralized but often flexible shell. Reptile eggshells are described as being ____, while bird eggs are hardened. Most mammals lack shelled eggs. To help reptiles breaking open their shell to hatch, many have a horny ____ on their snout. The tooth drops off shortly after hatching.

albumen;leathery; tooth

What is the biggest freshwater turtle in North America. It can grow to 2.5 feet long, can weigh as much as 200 pounds. It has powerful jaws, a hooked beak, sharp claws, and a muscular tail. The __________ does eat some aquatic plants, but it's mostly a carnivore that dines on a variety of fish, frogs, snakes, worms, clams, crayfish and even other turtles. It catches many of its prey using an appendage on its tongue that it can wiggle to look like a worm.

alligator snapping turtle

Crocodilians are large, aquatic reptiles; of the living reptiles, they are the most closely related to dinosaurs. Modern crocodilians are the only surviving reptiles of the ________ lineage that gave rise to the great Mesozoic radiation of dinosaurs and ____. They also differ little in structural details from primitive crocodilians of the early Mesozoic.

archosaurian; birds

Why is the amniotic egg different from fish and amphibian eggs?

because they have four extra membranes

Why are aligators ecosystem engineers?

becuase they change habitats for nests

Reproduction: Male alligators make loud ____ during the mating season. Alligators and crocodiles are _____. Usually 20 to 50 eggs are laid in a mass of dead vegetation or buried in the sand and guarded by the mother. The mother hears vocalizations from hatching young and responds by opening the nest to allow the hatchlings to ____. Unlike other reptiles, crocodilians care for young after hatching.

bellows; oviparous; escape

Define autotomy.

breaking off their tail to escape predators

Complex brain with an enlarged ___, used to interpret sensory information and control muscles during movement.

cerebrum

Sexes separate (_____) with internal fertilization. 1) Like amphibians, reptiles have a ____- a single opening where all waste matter as well as reproductive materials exit the body. 2)Most male reptiles have two copulatory organs called _____; although they only use one at a time. They are housed internally in males just at the base of the tail, and are everted when needed. 3) Unlike many other reptiles, alligators use a _____ that is always erect and pops out of their bodies to mate. 4)Visible differences between male and female reptiles are often subtle and reproductive organs are ____ their bodies, as a result, it is often difficult to tell if you have a male or female reptile with just a glance.

dioecious; cloaca; penis; inside

While amphibians are able to come on land, their shell-less ____, thin, moist ___, and gilled _____ prevent most from ever being fully terrestrial.

eggs; skin; larvae

The cornea of a snake's eye, lacking a movable _____, is permanently protected with a transparent membrane called a _____, which, together with reduced eyeball mobility, gives snakes the cold, unblinking stare that many people find frightening. Most snakes have relatively ___ ____. Except for _____l snakes (live in trees ex) parrat smakes) Snakes have no external ears or tympanic membrane but are quite sensitive to vibrations carried in the ground.

eyelid; spectacle; poor vision; arboreal

With about 3,000 species of lizards alive today, about ___ of the world's living reptile species are lizards. Most lizards have movable _____.

half; eyelids

Describe skinks

have elongate bodies, an armor of tight-fitting osteoderms, and reduced limbs in many species

Contrast the action of neurotoxins and hemotoxins.

hemotoxin: poisonous proteins that attack red blood cells ex) rattlesnakes and moccasin neurotoxin: poison that works on nervous system affecting heart rate and breathing ex) copperheads

What's the study of reptiles and amphibians?

herpetology

What is the kingdom, phylum, subphylum, and class?

kingdom:, animilia phylum: chordata subphylum: vertebrata class: reptilla

Describe monitors

large, active predators that include the largest lizard, the Komodo dragon

What are the largest turtles on Earth, growing up to seven feet (two meters) long and exceeding 2,000 pounds. They are also one of the most migratory, crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from their nesting beaches to feed on jellyfish. They are also the fastest turtle, swimming up to 22 miles per hour.

leatherback sea turtles (dermochelys coriacea)

Snakes are _____ and usually lack both pectoral and pelvic girdles; well known for their extreme elongation of their body and accompanying displacement and ______ of internal organs.

limbless; rearrangment

In snakes, the two halves of the lower jaw (_____) are joined only by muscles and skin, allowing them to spread widely apart. Since a snake must keep ____ during the slow process of swallowing, its tracheal opening (____) is thrust forward between the two mandibles. Swallowing may take several hours but saliva begins digestion during swallowing.

mandibles; breathing; glottis

Describe iguanas

often brightly colored with ornamental crests, frills, and throat fans.

Amphibians and reptiles are both _______ ___ tetrapods, relying on the environment for adjustment of their body temperature.

poikilothermic ectithermic

Venomous snakes have 1 of 3 types of fangs: _____-fanged snakes, such as the boomslang, bite prey & use grooved back teeth to guide venom into puncture wound. ____-fanged snakes, such as cobra, inject poison through 2 small front fangs that act like a hypodermic needle. _____- fang snakes, such as rattlesnake, water moccasin, and copperhead, have hinged fangs in roof of mouth that swing forward to inject poison.

rear; front; hinged

Why are reptiles sometimes referred to as "non-avian reptiles"?

refers to a paraphyletic group that includes the living turtles, lizards, snakes, tuataras, adn crocodilians, and a number of extinct groups, including ichthyosaurs, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs.

Use the image of the reptilian jaw and mammalian jaw on slide 18 of the notes to contrast the bones found in each.

reptiles have several bones in their lower jaw that enable them greater bite mobility. Reptiles have only one bone in each ear (the stapes). Mammals have three. Reptiles also have one occipital condyle ( a protrusion on the skull that forms a joint that enables movement to the head) while mammals and amphibians have two occipital condyles.

There are several adaptations (in addition to the amniotic egg) which distinguish reptiles and make them better suited to land: Better developed lungs; what is goof about these lungs?

reptiles lungs have more surface area than the lungs of amphibians and are ventilated by drawing air into the lungs by expanding the rib cage (lizards and snakes) or moving internal organs (turtles and crocodiles).

What 2 characteristics of their reproductive abilities have caused the tuatara population to be particularly vulnerable to extinction?

slow growth (can take 1- 1.25 years for eggs to hatch), low reproductive rates, and no parental care

Decribe geckos

small, agile, mostly nocturnal forms with adhesive toe pads that enable them to walk upside down and on vertical surfaces.

Lizards often rely on ___, agility, & _____ to catch prey, including insects and small worms.For protection, lizards may use active displays such as ____ ____, hissing, or inflating bodies. Some show autotomy - breaking off their ____ to escape predators.

speed; campflage; squirting blood; tail

The first reptiles, called ___reptiles, gave rise to several other lineages, each of which adapted to a different way of life.Reptiles as form a ______ group because they do not include all descendants of their most recent ancestor.

stem; paraphyletic

Lacking ____, a turtle's jaw is composed of tough, keratinized plates forming a beak, used for gripping food. A turtle's brain, like that of other reptiles, is small, never exceeding __% of body weight. The ____, however, is larger than that of an amphibian, and turtles are able to learn a maze about as quickly as a rat. Turtles have poor ____ but a good sense of ____, ____,________, and _____

teeth; 1; cerebrum; hearing; smell, acute vision, and color perception.

Turtles appear in the fossil record in the ___ ____, some 200 million years ago; they have survived to the present with very little change to their early morphology. The success of this group is attributed to their basic, yet successful, ____ design consisting of a shell covering the body. The dorsal surface of the shell is called the ____; the ventral surface is the ____. Both are joined by a bony bridge. The shell is composed of two layers: an outer layer of _____ and an inner layer of bone. The bony layer is fused to the ribs and vertebrae inside the shell.

terrastic period; body; carapace; plastron; keratin

____ are usually ___-dwelling and have streamlined, ___-shaped shells and webbed feet or flippers to rapidly move in water. They swim, but they also climb out onto banks, logs, or rocks to ___ in the sun. In cold weather, they may burrow into the mud, where they go into torpor until spring brings warm weather

turtles;water; disk; bask

Reptiles have efficient excretory systems for ___ ____. Paired kidneys excrete uric acid as the main nitrogenous waste. Water is resorbed in the bladder so "urine" is often a semisolid mass of uric acid. Salts are removed in many reptiles by salt ____, located near the nose, eyes, or tongue.

water conservation; glands

Reptiles were the first animals adapted to life entirely on land. They gained that title because they do not need ____to reproduce. Reproduction without water is accomplished by a structure called the ____ ____. Animals with an amniotic egg are called ___.

water; amniotic sac; amniots