Amniote Origins and Reptilian

Groups
Chapter 26
Amniotes

l Amphibians are still closely tied to water

because their eggs & usually larvae
must be in the water.
l The eggs are shell-less and will dry out
quickly.
Amniotes

l Amniotes are a
monophyletic
group of tetrapods
that have a
terrestrially
adapted egg.
l Reptiles, birds,
mammals.
A phylogeny of Amniotes

l Amniotes arose from

a group of
amphibian-like
tetrapods, the
anthracosaurs,
during the early
Carboniferous.
Origin of Amniotes

l By the late Carboniferous, skulls of

amniotes could be separated into groups
based on three patterns of openings
(fenestra) in the temporal region.
l Anapsids
l Diapsids
l Synapsids

l These openings are associated with

large muscles that elevate the lower jaw.
Origin of Amniotes
Origin of Amniotes

l Anapsids – skull has no openings in the

temple area behind the eye sockets.
l Turtles are the only living representatives.
l Turtles have changed little since they
appeared in the Triassic (200 mya).
Origin of Amniotes

l Diapsids – two temporal openings.

l All other reptile groups and birds.
l Four subgroups of diapsids:
l Lepidosaurs – includes all modern reptiles except
turtles & crocodilians.
l Archosaurs – includes dinosaurs, crocodilians,
and birds.
l Sauropterygians – several extinct aquatic groups,
such as plesiosaurs.
l Ichthyosaurs – extinct aquatic, dolphin-like forms.
Origin of Amniotes

l Synapsids – one temporal opening.

l Includes mammals and extinct mammal-like
reptiles.
l The first amniote group to diversify, giving
rise to pelycosaurs, theraspids, and then
mammals.
Changes in Classification

l Reptilia is no longer considered a valid

taxon because it is paraphyletic.
l Includes common ancestor and some – but
not all – of the descendents.
l Birds should be included.
l Reptiles + birds is a monophyletic group.

l Crocodiles & birds are a sister group.

l They form a monophyletic group apart from other
reptiles.
l Archosauria
Reptile Characteristics

l Reptiles have tough, dry, scaly skin that

protects them from desiccation and
injury.
l Chromatophores are the color-bearing
cells found in the dermis.
l Beta keratin is a unique type of keratin
found only in reptiles.
l Scales are made mostly of beta keratin.
l Scales are of epidermal origin, not dermal as in
fishes – not homologous.
Reptile Characteristics

l Reptiles periodically shed their skin.

l Snakes shed in one piece turning it inside out.
l Lizards may slough their skin in pieces.
Derived Characters of Amniotes

l Amniotes are named for the major derived

character of the clade, the amniotic egg.
l This egg contains specialized membranes that
protect the embryo.
Derived Characters of Amniotes

l The extraembryonic membranes have

various functions.
l The chorion and allantois assist in
exchange of oxygen & carbon dioxide with
the environment.
l The extraembryonic yolk sac provides
nutrition for the growing embryo.
l The amnion and fibrous or calcareous shell
provide support and reduce water loss.
Derived Characters of Amniotes

l Amniotes also have other terrestrial

adaptations, such as relatively
impermeable skin and the ability to use
the rib cage to ventilate the lungs.
Reptile Characteristics

l Reptile jaws have more developed

musculature and more force can be
applied after prey is seized.
Reptile Characteristics

l Shelled eggs require internal fertilization

and specializations to form the shell.
l The circulatory system is more efficient.
l The atrium is completely divided.
l Ventricle is at least partially divided.
l Completely divided in crocodilians.
Reptile Characteristics

l Reptilian lungs are better developed

than those of amphibians.
l Reptiles suck air into their lungs by
enlarging the thoracic cavity.
l Snakes and lizards expand the rib cage.
l Crocodilians and turtles move internal
organs.
Reptile Characteristics

l Reptiles, and other amniotes, have a

kidney specialized to concentrate solutes
in the urine, conserving water.
l Reptiles that have legs have better body
support than amphibians.
l Legs better designed for moving on land.
Reptile Characteristics

l Reptilian nervous systems are more

complex than those of amphibians.
l This allows for more complex behaviors.
Reptile Characteristics
l Sense organs are well
developed (except
hearing).
l Lizards & snakes have
a well developed
Jacobson’s organ, a
specialized olfactory
chamber.
l Odors are carried to
the Jacobson’s organ
by the tongue in some.
Anapsid Reptiles

l Anapsids include
the Order Testudines
– the turtles &
tortoises.
l An anapsid skull
has no openings in
the temple area
behind the eye
sockets.
Anapsid Reptiles

l Turtles appear in the fossil record about 200

mya, during the Triassic.
l They have changed little since then.
l Turtles are enclosed in a shell consisting of the
dorsal carapace and the ventral plastron.
l The shell has an outer layer of keratin and an inner
layer of bone (including the ribs & vertebrae).
l The shell is a very useful protective feature.
Anapsid Reptiles

l Turtles have their limbs & limb girdles

inside the ribs – an adaptation for pulling
into the shell.
l Turtles do not have teeth, instead they
have keratinized plates for gripping food.
Anapsid Reptiles

l Since the ribs are fused, they can’t be

expanded for breathing.
l Turtles use abdominal and pectoral muscles
as a “diaphragm”.
l Contracting these muscles pulls air into the
lungs.
l They pull the shoulder girdle into the shell to
force air out of the lungs.
Anapsid Reptiles

l Turtles have acute vision and can see

color as well as humans.
l They have a good sense of smell.
l Turtles have poor hearing and so, do not
vocalize much.
Anapsid Reptiles

l Turtles are oviparous.

l Shelled, amniotic eggs are buried in the
ground.
l Females carefully construct nests, lay
their eggs, bury them, and leave them to
hatch.
Anapsid Reptiles

l Some species have temperature

dependent sex determination.
l Low temperatures produce males.
l High temperatures produce females.

l These species lack sex chromosomes.

Anapsid Reptiles

l Sea turtles only

come out of the sea
to lay their eggs in
nests on the beach.
l Great care is taken
to dig the nest and
then disguise it from
egg-predators.
Diapsid Reptiles

l Living diapsids
include Lepidosaurs
(lizards, snakes,
tuataras), and
Archosaurs
(crocodilians).
l Diapsid skulls have
two pairs of
temporal openings.
Order Squamata

l Lizards, snakes,
and worm lizards
are part of the
order Squamata.
l 95% of living
reptiles are
squamates.
l Some squamates
are viviparous, no
other reptiles are.
Order Squamata
l Skulls of squamates are
modified from ancestral diapsid
skulls by loss of dermal bone
ventral and posterior to the
lower temporal opening.
l This allowed for the evolution
of a skull with movable joints –
a kinetic skull.
l Assists with seizing &
manipulating prey.
l More closing force.
Order Squamata

l Snakes have extremely kinetic skulls.

l The two halves of the lower jaw are joined
only by muscles and skin allowing them to
spread apart.
l The tracheal opening is thrust forward
between the two mandibles so the snake can
breathe while eating.
Suborder Sauria - lizards

l Lizards (suborder
Sauria) first
appeared in the
fossil record in the
Jurassic and began
their radiation in the
Cretaceous.
l Examples include:
geckos, iguanids,
skinks, &
chameleons.
Suborder Sauria - lizards

l Most lizards have movable eyelids, while

snakes have a permanent transparent
cap that protects the eye.
l Lizards, except the nocturnal geckos,
have good vision with rods & cones on
their retina for color vision.
Suborder Sauria - lizards

l Many lizards live in hot and arid regions.

l Water loss through the skin is reduced by
the lack of glands in the skin.
l They produce a semisolid urine high in uric
acids.
Suborder Sauria - lizards

l Some lizards, like

leopard geckos and
Gila monsters, store
fat in their tails.
l Most lizards have
the ability to drop
their tails and
regrow a new one.
Suborder Sauria - lizards

l Lizards, like most reptiles, are

ectotherms – they must adjust their
body temperature by moving to different
microclimates.
l Ectotherms use less energy than
endotherms (use metabolism to regulate
body temp) – this allows them to live in
unproductive ecosystems and to survive
longer periods without food.
Suborder Amphisbaenia
l Amphisbaenians (worm
lizards) appear in the fossil
record in the Cenozoic era.
l They have specializations
for burrowing.
l They can move backwards
almost as well as forwards.
l Eyes and ears are hidden
under skin.
l This makes them look a lot
like an earthworm.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Snakes (suborder Serpentes) appear in the

late Jurassic.
l Derived from a group of lizards whose other
descendants include the Gila monster and
monitor lizards.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Snakes are limbless

and usually lack both
pectoral and pelvic
girdles.
l Remnants of a pelvic
girdle can be found in
pythons, boas, and a
few others.
l The vertebrae of
snakes are modified
to permit quick lateral
undulations.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Snakes rely on the detection of chemical

cues when hunting.
l They have a pair of pit-like organs in the
roof of the mouth – the Jacobson’s
organs. These are lined with
chemosensory epithelium.
l The tongue picks up scent molecules from
the environment and brings them to the
Jacobson’s organs.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Snakes have a
highly kinetic skull
that enables them
to eat prey several
times their own
diameter.
l Two halves of the
lower jaw joined
only by muscles
and skin.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Snakes usually move

using lateral
undulation where
movement follows an
S-shaped path.
l The snake exerts
lateral force against
surface
irregularities.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Concertina
movement enables
a snake to move in a
narrow passage.
l The snake extends
forward while
bracing S-shaped
loops against the
sides of the channel.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Heavy bodied
snakes use
rectilinear
movement where
parts of the snake
rest on the ground,
while other parts are
off the ground,
stretching forward.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Side-winding allows
desert vipers to
move fast over loose,
sandy surfaces with
a minimum of
surface contact.
l The body is thrown
forward in loops.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l All snakes are

carnivorous.
l Most snakes swallow
small prey items while
alive.
l Some constrict their
prey first.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Other snakes inject

the prey with venom
first.
l Venom is delivered
through a channel
in the fangs.
Suborder Serpentes – Snakes

l Most snakes are oviparous.

l Some are ovoviviparous (including pit
vipers) and give birth to live young.
l Very few are viviparous with the young
receiving nourishment through a
primitive placenta.
l Snakes can store sperm and may lay
several fertile clutches after one mating.
Order Sphenodonta - Tuataras

l Two living species of Sphenodon are the

sole survivors of the sphenodontid
lineage that radiated modestly in the
Mesozoic, but declined along with the
dinosaurs at the end of the Mesozoic.
l They live only in New Zealand in
burrows that they often share with
petrels.
Order Sphenodonta - Tuataras
l Tuataras possess many
features almost identical to
those of Mesozoic animals
living 200 mya.
l Diapsid skull with two
temporal openings
bounded by complete
arches.
l Well-developed median
parietal eye – can only
register light intensity.
Order Crocodilia

l Crocodilians (order Crocodilia) are the

only surviving archosaur reptiles.
l Dinosaurs were also archosaurs.
l Birds are descended from one group of
dinosaurs.
Order Crocodilia

l Today’s crocodilians are very similar to

those of the early Mesozoic.
l There are three families today:
l Alligators and caimans (mostly New World)
l Crocodiles (widely distributed)

l Gharials (1 species in India & Burma)

Order Crocodilia

l All crocodilians have an elongate, well

reinforced skull and massive jaw
muscles arranged to allow a wide gape
and rapid, powerful closure.
l They have teeth set in sockets –
thecodont dentition.
l All archosaurs including early birds had this
type of dentition.
Order Crocodilia

l Crocodilians have a complete

secondary palate that allows them to
breathe while their mouth is filled with
food or water.
l This trait is shared with mammals.
l Crocodilians have a four-chambered
heart with completely divided atria &
ventricles.
l This trait is shared with birds & mammals.
Order Crocodilia
l Mother crocodilians guard their nests
against potential egg-predators.
l All are oviparous.
l Sex is temperature dependent.
l Low temperatures produce females.
l High temperatures produce males.

l The young vocalize when they hatch and the

mother will dig them out of the nest.
Order Crocodilia

l The mother includes rotting vegetation in

the nest to increase the temperature.
l Works like a compost pile.
Extinct Archosaurs

l Dinosaurs, along with their descendents,

the birds, are placed along with
crocodiles in the archosaur clade.
l Traditionally, dinosaurs were considered
slow, sluggish creatures, but fossil
discoveries and research have led to the
conclusion that dinosaurs were agile and
fast moving.
Extinct Archosaurs

l Paleontologists have also discovered

signs of parental care among dinosaurs.
l Living archosaurs (crocodilians & birds) also
show parental care.
Extinct Archosaurs

l Order Saurischia – “lizard-hipped”

l Suborder Sauropodomorpha –
herbivorous long necks.
l Suborder Theropoda – carnivores like T.
rex and Velociraptor.
l Birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs.

l Order Ornithischia – “bird-hipped”

l Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Parasaurolophus
Extinct
Archosaurs