| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Early tetrapod evolution | 400mya (Devonian period), Sarcopterygian ancestor, vasccularized lungs from pharynx |
| 3 modern amphibia orders | Salamanders, caecilians, frogs/toads |
| Caecilian traits | limbless, tailess, simple eyes/blind, sensory tentacle on head |
| Salamander traits | Tails, gen. 4 limbs, carnivores, variations in modes of respiration & life history |
| Frog Respiration traits | breathe via skin, buccal cavity, lungs; positive-pressure, vocal chords for sound protection |
| Positive-pressure breathers | force air into lungs, creating greater pressure gradient |
| Frog circulation | Closed system, 3-chambered heart |
| Frog reproduction traits | External fertilization by amplexus, eggs laid in water |
| amplexus | Male mounts female, deposits sperm direct on eggs |
| Frog metamorphosis | Hindlegs appear, lungs develop, gills reabsorbed into body |
| Number of temporal fenestra | How Reptiles are classified |
| Fenestrae | Openings in skull behind eye |
| Anapsid | no openings; turtles only living species |
| Synapsid | one opening, extinct mammal-like reptiles |
| Diapsid | two openings, most modern reptiles |
| Defining reptile traits | Tough scaly skin, amniotic egg, jaws designed for power, internal fertilization, 3-chambered heart, Lungs with larger surface area, Improved limb design and support |
| Reptile skin | overlapping keratinized scales, protect body & preserve water |
| Amniotic egg | 3 protective membranes providing support, gas and waste exchange, removes dependence on water |
| Reptile jaws | Larger muscles, Cranial kinesis in snakes and lizards |
| Reptile respiration traits | No cutaneous respiration, enlarged thoracic cavity to breath |
| Modern reptiles | Turtles, Snakes and Lizards, Crocodiles and Alligators, 7000sp total |
| Turtles | anapsid, little change since Triassic period, 250 species total |
| Turtle physiology | No teeth (horny plates), lung breathing and oxygen uptake in water at pharynx and cloaca, shell consists of dorsal carapace and ventral plastron |
| Common snake & lizard traits | 95% of living reptiles, evolved viviparity, some degree of cranial kinesis |
| viviparity | embryo develops inside parent, instead of external egg |
| Lizards | 3300 species, most 4 legs (some legless), tail autotomy, external ears & movable eyelids |
| Tail autotomy | ability of lizards to auto-amputate tail as a defense mechanism |
| External snake traits | 2300 sp, no limbs or girdles, extreme elongation & displacement of visceral organs, transparent scale over eye |
| Internal snake traits | No external ear, vomeronasal organs for odor, heat sensing organ, fangs |
| Snake feeding habits | venom or constriction; fangs are hollow or grooved to deliver venom |
| Crocodiles & alligators | Powerful jaw-closing muscles, secondary palate, 4-chambered heart, lay eggs on land |
| vomeronasal organ | olfactory sense organ, aka nose |
Combine with other sets
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