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Questions and Answers
What subclass includes only a single genus of primitive birds from the Jurassic, with Archaeopteryx as an example?
What is the main adaptation for flight in birds?
Which order is known as the most successful among living reptiles?
Which group gave rise to mammals?
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In what way do birds differ from reptiles in terms of maintaining body temperature?
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What characteristic is unique to birds but not found in other classes like reptiles or mammals?
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What characteristic allowed man to largely free himself from environmental restraints according to the text?
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Which group of mammals includes forms like the Tasmanian wolf and the marsupial mole?
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What is the Order that includes cats, dogs, bears, and weasels?
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Which Order consists of lemurs, monkeys, apes, and man?
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What is the Order that includes animals such as cattle, deer, pigs, and antelopes?
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Which class is characterized by young mammals that are born in an immature state and carried in a pouch on the belly of the female?
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What is a characteristic of reptiles mentioned in the text?
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Which subclass of reptiles includes animals with vestigial limbs and limb girdles?
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What type of animals were the ruling reptiles of the Mesozoic era?
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Which reptiles have transparent fused eyelids?
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What is the function of the amnion in reptilian embryos?
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What is a common habitat for snakes according to the text?
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Study Notes
Reptiles and Mammals
- Cynognathus is an example of Synapsida, a mammal-like reptile.
- Order Squamata includes lizards and snakes and is the most numerous, widespread, and diverse group of living reptiles.
- The subclasses of Synapsida are all extinct, but gave rise to the mammals.
Birds
- Birds are sometimes called "glorified reptiles" due to their adaptations for flight.
- Characters of Aves:
- Feathers are modified epidermal scales found only in birds.
- Fore limb is modified to form a wing.
- Endothermic, maintaining high body temperature through metabolic activity.
- Subclasses of Aves:
- Subclass Prototheria: includes only a single genus of primitive birds from the Jurassic (Archaeopteryx).
- Archaeopteryx lithographica is an example of this subclass, intermediate between reptiles and birds.
Mammals
- Subclasses of Mammalia:
- Subclass Prototheria: includes only a single genus of primitive mammals (monotremes).
- Subclass Theria: includes placental mammals (Eutheria) and marsupials (Metatheria).
- Characteristics of Mammalia:
- Endothermic (homoiothermic).
- Cerebral hemispheres of the brain are well-developed.
- Infraclass Eutheria: young undergo a relatively long period of intra-uterine development, receiving nourishment from the maternal bloodstream through a placenta.
Orders of Mammals
- Order Insectivora: moles, shrews, and hedgehogs.
- Order Chiroptera: bats, the only flying mammals.
- Order Primates: lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans.
- Order Carnivora: cats, dogs, bears, and weasels.
- Order Perissodactyla: horses, tapirs, and rhinoceroses.
- Order Artiodactyla: cattle, deer, pigs, antelopes, giraffes, and camels.
- Order Cetacea: whales and dolphins.
- Order Rodentia: squirrels, rats, mice, pocket gophers, and beavers.
Reptilia
- Characters of Reptilia:
- Ectothermic, with body temperature controlled by the external environment.
- More or less covered with scales.
- Heart is three-chambered (except in crocodilians) and lungs are always present.
- Fertilization is always internal and either lay eggs or bear live young.
- Subclasses of Reptilia:
- Suborder Lacertilia (Sauria): includes lizards.
- Suborder Serpentes (Ophidia): includes snakes.
- Subclass Archosauria: represented today only by crocodilians, and includes dinosaurs, flying reptiles (Pterosauria), and ancestors of birds.
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Description
Test your knowledge on the characteristics of the Class Reptilia, including ectothermy, scales, and heart structure. Learn about the unique features that define reptiles as a group of terrestrial vertebrates.
