VertebratesLEC33 Flashcards
Osteichthyes
- vast majority of familiar vertebrates
- bony fishes
ex. walking catfish
Tetrapods
bony fishes that have limbs
and feet
Derived Characters of Tetrapods
- Four limbs and feet with digits
- Ears for detecting airborne sounds
- evolve from living in water to land
Class Amphibia
- has about 5,000 species
- have moist skin that complements the lungs in gas exchange, breathe through skin & lungs
- Includes salamanders, which have tails
- first species to walk on land
Order Anura
- Includes frogs & toads, which lack tails
ex. golden frog from costa rican
Order caecilians
legless and resemble worms
Amphibian has “two lives” that are…
Aquatic larva and terrestrial adult
Reptiles
- evolved from amphibians
- have scales that create a waterproof barrier
- lay shelled eggs on land
The oldest reptilian fossils date to…
about 300 million years old
what are the surviving species of an ancient group of reptiles, lepidosaurs?
- tuatara, currently confined to New Zealand
- squamates, the lizards(most diverse) and snakes
Turtles
an ancient group that have adapted to deserts others, mainly ponds and rivers
ex. gopler tortoise in New Orleans
archosaurs
crocodilians & birds
*they are closely related
The amniotic egg contains membranes that…
protect the embryo
ectothermic
- absorbing external heat as the main source of body heat (cold blooded)
- mostly reptiles
endothermic
-capable of keeping the body warm through
metabolism (warm blooded)
-mostly birds & leather back turtle
