Reptile

Examples of the four reptile groups: above Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and tuatara ( Sphenodon punctatus ); below the Sinai Agama ( Pseudotrapelus sinaitus ) and the Nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ).

The reptiles ( Reptilia ) or reptiles (Latin reptilian " creeping " ) form a class with 9,766 species of vertebrates at the transition between the lower ( Anamnia ) and higher vertebrates ( amniotes ). As phylogenetic taxon, ie, as closed descent group, they would have to include the birds. In the reproduced here classic compilation ( without birds), the reptiles are not a natural group, but a paraphyletic taxon because they do not contain all the descendants of their last common ancestor. The taxon " Reptiles" therefore is not considered to be scientifically valid, but only as a summary of morphologically ähnelnder animals more.

Reptiles have a tail, regular skinned horny scales, skin and four legs ( in snakes and some lizards regressed ). You are Lungenatmer. Reptiles lay eggs ( oviparity ), give birth to live young ( viviparous ) or eggs are viviparous ( Ovoviviparie ), and form - in contrast to amphibians - no larval stage from. Reptiles are ectotherms and cold-blooded ( poikilothermic ) animals that regulate their body temperature as much as possible through behavioral (eg, sunbathing ).

The scientific study of reptiles is in the field of herpetology. The knowledge of their maintenance and breeding in the terrarium is called terrariums or terrariums customer, which is a part of the aquatics.

Genealogical history

Tribal History descended from reptiles and birds of amphibious land vertebrates. In contrast to the reptiles the egg of amphibians lack the amnion that surrounds the developing embryo in the amniotes. The amniotes are in contrast to the amphibians for reproduction does not rely on water and also generally better adapted to dry habitats. Amniota have no lateral line, as it is usually found in the amphibians.

The Amniota split into two branches, according to the characteristic number and position of lateral openings in the skull, the temporal or pace Ralf Rochester, as Synapsida ( an opening ) and Diapsida (two openings ) are referred to; the primal Amniota ( Anapsida ) had no temporal openings. Of the Diapsida the reptiles with such well-known groups such as the dinosaurs ( Dinosauria ) or the extinct pterosaurs come ( Pterosauria ). As a still living ( extant ) representatives of the dinosaurs are, according to recent view the birds.

Has not been clear is the systematic position of turtles ( Testudinata ): Your skull has no lateral openings, so this group is generally assigned to the Anapsiden; some paleontologists assume, however, that the turtles are descendants of Diapsiden which have their temple openings subsequently reduced. Also, due to the location of the carotid arteries and the aorta of training they are now classified in the family of reptiles as a sister group of Archosauria. The Fossil situation currently does not allow for definitive clarification.

The oldest reptiles in the fossil record from the earliest Permian, about 300 million years. However, the oldest records are footprints in about 315 million years old rock from the Bashkirian, the oldest stage of the Upper Carboniferous ( Pennsylvanian ) of North America. The trace fossils also demonstrate for the first time the existence of these early amniotes in a water-poor environment in which the Amnionei probably means a reproductive advantage. A first division found very early in improper reptiles ( Parareptilia ) and actual reptiles ( Eureptilia ) instead. Representatives of Parareptilia are extinct in the Triassic Procolophonida, which are often regarded as close relatives of the turtles, and the extinct already in the Permian Pareiasauria.

The Eureptilia were split into a number of branches. The branch of Archosauria includes crocodiles, pterosaurs and dinosaurs, including birds. The parallel branch of Lepidosauria contains the closely related lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians as well as the more distant tuatara. The Sauropterygia or fins lizards are a group of extinct marine reptiles of the Mesozoic era.

System

• Turtles ( Testudines ) (→ systematics of turtles)
• Tuatara ( Sphenodon )
• Squamata ( Squamata ) Snake crawl ( Dibamidae )
• Iguana -like ( Iguania )
• Gecko -like ( Gekkota )
• Skinkartige ( Scincomorpha )
• Amphisbaenians ( amphisbaenians )
• Sneak behaved ( Anguimorpha )
• Snakes ( Serpentes ) (→ systematics of snakes)

A more detailed cladistic systematics, which also considers the families and the extinct groups can be found under classification of reptiles. The European species are listed in the list of European reptiles.

Swell

• Wilfried Westheide / Reinhard Rieger: Systematic Zoology Part 2: vertebrae and skull Animals, 1st Edition, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag Heidelberg • Berlin, 2004, ISBN 3-8274-0307-3
• The Tree of Life Web Project