ADW: Iguana iguana: CLASSIFICATION
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Iguana_iguana.html
To cite this page: Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2012. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed at http://animaldiversity.org.
Reptilia
Information
Pictures
Specimens
Sounds
Classification
By Phil Myers
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Sarcopterygii
Class: Reptilia
Reptilia/*
Reptilia, presented as a Class in our classification, includes turtles (Testudines), snakes and lizards (Lepidosauria), crocodiles and their relatives (Crocodilia), and birds (Aves), as well as a number of extinct groups. Reptiles (including birds!) are amniotes; that is, their eggs are protected from dessication and other environmental problems by an extra membrane, the amnion, not found in the first terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians). Mammals (Mammalia) are also amniotes, but they differ from reptiles in the structure of their skulls (especially the regions associated with chewing and hearing). Mammals also have hair and feed their young with milk produced by modified skin glands (mammary glands).
In addition to being amniotes, all reptiles have (or did have, in their evolutionary history) horny epidermal scales made of a particular kind of protein, paired limbs with 5 toes, skulls with a single occipital condyle, lungs instead of gills for respiration, and a 3 or 4 chambered heart. Their eggs are covered with a leathery or calcium-based shell (partially or completely lost in some species that give birth to live young), and fertilization occurs inside the female, rather than outside, as it does in most amphibians. Members of Reptilia generally share many additional traits, for example in their nervous and excretory systems, locomotion, and reproduction.
Why are birds included within Reptilia, and how are they and other members of this group related to each other? Both the fossil record and comparative analyses of living species (especially those based on molecular evidence) convincingly establish that, among living reptiles, birds and crocodiles are more closely related to each other than they are to lepidosaurs (snakes and lizards). The position of turtles is more controversial; in the past they were thought to represent an early branch of Reptilia. Recent evidence suggests they may have a special relationship with crocodiles and birds. Because birds clearly arise from within the groups we traditionally consider to be reptiles, not separately from them, most systematists now formally consider birds (Aves) to be a subgroup within Reptilia.
References:
Hickman, C. P. Jr., L. S. Roberts, and A. Larson. 2003. Animal Diversity, 3rd edition. McGraw Hill, Boston.
Laurin, M. and J. A. Gauthier. 2001. Amniota. http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Amniota&contgroup=Terrestrial_Vertebrates
Related Sites:
Savannah River Ecology Lab's Herpetology Homepage
Last updated 24 February 2004.
For More Information
Find Reptilia information at
Encyclopedia of Life
Contributors
Phil Myers (author), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan.
To cite this page: Myers, P. 2001. "Reptilia" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Reptilia.html
Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.
Sponsored in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative,
the Homeland Foundation and the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DUE-0633095 and DRL-0628151.
The ADW Team gratefully acknowledges their support.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Iguana_iguana.html
To cite this page: Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2012. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed at http://animaldiversity.org.
Reptilia
Information
Pictures
Specimens
Sounds
Classification
By Phil Myers
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Sarcopterygii
Class: Reptilia
Reptilia/* Reptilia, presented as a Class in our classification, includes turtles (Testudines), snakes and lizards (Lepidosauria), crocodiles and their relatives (Crocodilia), and birds (Aves), as well as a number of extinct groups. Reptiles (including birds!) are amniotes; that is, their eggs are protected from dessication and other environmental problems by an extra membrane, the amnion, not found in the first terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians). Mammals (Mammalia) are also amniotes, but they differ from reptiles in the structure of their skulls (especially the regions associated with chewing and hearing). Mammals also have hair and feed their young with milk produced by modified skin glands (mammary glands).
In addition to being amniotes, all reptiles have (or did have, in their evolutionary history) horny epidermal scales made of a particular kind of protein, paired limbs with 5 toes, skulls with a single occipital condyle, lungs instead of gills for respiration, and a 3 or 4 chambered heart. Their eggs are covered with a leathery or calcium-based shell (partially or completely lost in some species that give birth to live young), and fertilization occurs inside the female, rather than outside, as it does in most amphibians. Members of Reptilia generally share many additional traits, for example in their nervous and excretory systems, locomotion, and reproduction.
Why are birds included within Reptilia, and how are they and other members of this group related to each other? Both the fossil record and comparative analyses of living species (especially those based on molecular evidence) convincingly establish that, among living reptiles, birds and crocodiles are more closely related to each other than they are to lepidosaurs (snakes and lizards). The position of turtles is more controversial; in the past they were thought to represent an early branch of Reptilia. Recent evidence suggests they may have a special relationship with crocodiles and birds. Because birds clearly arise from within the groups we traditionally consider to be reptiles, not separately from them, most systematists now formally consider birds (Aves) to be a subgroup within Reptilia.
References:
Hickman, C. P. Jr., L. S. Roberts, and A. Larson. 2003. Animal Diversity, 3rd edition. McGraw Hill, Boston.
Laurin, M. and J. A. Gauthier. 2001. Amniota. http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Amniota&contgroup=Terrestrial_Vertebrates
Related Sites:
Savannah River Ecology Lab's Herpetology Homepage
Last updated 24 February 2004.
For More Information
Find Reptilia information at
Encyclopedia of Life
Contributors
Phil Myers (author), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan.
To cite this page: Myers, P. 2001. "Reptilia" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Reptilia.html
Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.
Sponsored in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative,
the Homeland Foundation and the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DUE-0633095 and DRL-0628151.
The ADW Team gratefully acknowledges their support.
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