21 BIOL 1201-Reptilia Lec 21

BIOL 1201 General Biology II
• COURSE TITLE : General Biology II

• COURSE CODE : BIOL 1201
• PRE-REQUISITE : BIOL 1101
• Continuous Assessment 40%
• Final Examinations 60%
• Aim of the course

• To introduce students to basic concepts of
plant and animal diversity
Lecturer: Mr. M.M. NKOSI
BIOL 1201 General Biology II
• COURSE TITLE : General Biology II

• COURSE CODE : BIOL 1201
• PRE-REQUISITE : BIOL 1101
• Continuous Assessment 40%
• Final Examinations 60%
• Aim of the course

• To introduce students to basic concepts of
plant and animal diversity
Lecturer: Mr. M.M. NKOSI
Class Reptilia
• Reptiles diversified and were most abundant between 245

and 65 million years ago.
• These reptiles included the mammal-like reptiles, the
ancestors of today’s living reptiles, and the dinosaurs, which
became extinct.
• Reptilians are cold-blooded animals, with scales on their
body.
• They breathe through lungs.
• In most of these animals, the heart is three chambered, with
the exception of crocodiles, which have a four-chambered
heart.
Reptilian features
• The most outstanding evolutionary innovation of reptiles is that
their means of reproduction is suitable to a land existence.
• Fertilization is internal, and the female lays leathery, flexible,
shelled eggs.
• This amniotic egg made development on land possible and
eliminated the need for a swimming-larval stage during
development.
• New molecular, morphological, and behavioral studies support
the hypothesis that birds are actually living dinosaurs/reptiles;.
• The body is covered with hard, keratinized scales, which protect
the animal from desiccation and from predators.
Reptilian features (Cont.)
• The atrium of the heart is always separated into right and left
chambers.
• For snakes, an adaptation for a land existence is the manner in
which they use their tongue as a sense organ.
• Fishes, amphibians, and reptiles are ectothermic, meaning that
their body temperature matches the temperature of the external
environment.
• If it is cold externally, they are cold internally; if it is hot
externally, they are hot internally.
• Reptiles try to regulate their body temperatures by basking in the
sun if they need warmth or by hiding in shadows if they need
cooling off.
• The reptiles living today are mainly turtles, alligators, snakes and
• Examples of Reptiles
Crocodile
Tortoise
General features of reptiles
• These include:
• Lungs with expandable rib cage,
• Three chambered heart,
• Leathery, shelled amniotic egg,
• Keratinized, scaly, dry skin,
• Skin with chromatophores
• Some shed skin periodically,
• Cold bloodedness.
Reptilian classification
• Superorder Archosaurs is a clade that includes the extinct

flying reptiles and dinosaurs, as well as the extant (living)
order Crocodilia and birds. No wonder crocodiles are
sometimes referred to as “living fossils”.
• The four orders of Reptiles include:

• Order Testudines/ Chelonia: This includes the turtles,
terrapins, and tortoises.
• Order Squamata: This includes Lacertilia (lizards),
Amphisbaenians (worm lizards), Serpentes (snakes),
• Order Sphenodontia : This includes lizard-like animals
(Tuataras), that live in burrows, and
• Order Crocodilia: This includes crocodiles and alligators,
Order Testudines/ Chelonia
• This includes the turtles, terrapins, and tortoises. Marines forms are
turtles, land species are tortoises and freshwater species are
terrapins.
• Turtles have protective shells made of bony plates overlaid by horny
scales,
• Some terrestrial species can withdraw their heads and legs
completely into their shells,
• Their horny beak covers the jaws,
• Turtles do not have teeth,
• The forelimbs of marine turtles are modified into flippers,
• Sea turtles migrate hundreds of miles from the beaches where they
lay eggs,
• Females return to the same beaches where they hatched to mate
• Most species of sea turtles are endangered as a result of human
Order Squamata
• This includes Lacertilia (lizards), Amphisbaenians (legless

worm lizards), Serpentes (snakes),
• Have rows of scales that overlap like shingles on a roof,
forming a continuous, flexible armor that is shed
periodically,
• Exhibit greatly variable body sizes and shapes,
• Some lizards are legless, e.g. “worm lizards” and the “glass
snake” (which is really a lizard),
• Snakes are characterized by a flexible, loosely jointed jaw
structure that lets them swallow animals larger than the
diameter of their own jaws,
Order Squamata (cont.)
• Snakes have elongated bodies with no legs, although pythons
have vestigial hind-limb bones,
• Snake eyes are covered by a transparent scale and do not have
movable eyelids,
• Snakes do not have an external ear opening (tympanic
membrane or eardrum and a middle-ear cavity),
• The snake uses its forked tongue as an accessory sensory organ
for touch and smell. Chemicals from the ground or air adhere to
the tongue,
• Pit vipers and some boas also have a prominent pit organ on
each side of the head that detects heat from endothermic prey.
These snakes use their pit organs to locate and capture birds and
small nocturnal mammals. These snakes are sensitive and can
detect very small temperatures up to a fraction of one decree
Order Squamata (cont.)
• Some snakes, such as king snakes, pythons, and boa
constrictors, kill their prey by rapidly wrapping themselves
around the animal and squeezing it so that it cannot
breathe,
• Others have fangs, which are hollow teeth connected to
venom glands. When the snake bites, it pumps venom
through the fangs into the prey. Some snake venoms cause
the breakdown of red blood cells, others, such as that of the
coral snake, are neurotoxins, which interfere with nerve
functions,
• Amphisbaenians, or worm lizards, are now considered
modified lizards. They are well adapted for their burrowing
lifestyle. They have elongated, legless bodies, and their eyes
are hidden under their skin. Most are less than 15 cm in
Order Sphenodontia
• This includes lizard-like animals that live in

burrows.
• Tuataras superficially resemble lizards.
• They look like iguanas but have certain distinct
characters.
• For example, they are the only amniotes with
vertebrae that are concave at both ends; such
vertebrae are characteristic of fish and some
amphibians.
Order Crocodilia
• This is the lineage that gave rise to the Pterosaurs (flying reptiles) and most of the
dinosaurs that dominated the Mesozoic era.
• This includes crocodiles and alligators, caimans, and gavials. Crocodilians have an
elongated skull.
• The extant members of order Crocodilia along with the birds, are the surviving reptiles
of the Archosaur lineage.
• Modern crocodilians include three groups:

• (1) the crocodiles of Africa, Asia, and America;
• (2) the alligators of the southern United States and China, plus the caimans of Central
America; and
• (3) the gavials of South Asia.
• Most species live in swamps, in rivers, or along sea coasts, feeding on various kinds of
animals.
• Crocodiles are the largest living reptile.
• They have a cranial skeleton is adapted for aquatic life.
• The crocodile can be distinguished from the alligator or caiman by its long, slender
snout and by the large fourth tooth on the bottom jaw that is visible when the mouth is
closed.
• End of presentation 4

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BIOL 1201 General Biology II

• COURSE TITLE : General Biology II

• Aim of the course

• COURSE TITLE : General Biology II

• Aim of the course

• Reptiles diversified and were most abundant between 245

• Superorder Archosaurs is a clade that includes the extinct

• The four orders of Reptiles include:

• This includes Lacertilia (lizards), Amphisbaenians (legless

• This includes lizard-like animals that live in

• Modern crocodilians include three groups:

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