Chapter 18- Reptiles and Amphibians

Question 1

Animals whose body temperatures fluctuate with the temperature of their surroundings are referred to as:

Answer 1

Poikilotherms

Question 2

The reptiles which bear their young alive are called __________________, which means to bring forth alive from eggs.

Answer 2

Ovoviviparous

Question 3

What are elongated, four-legged reptiles with a tapered tail, that are the most numerous of the reptiles, and so e common example families would be iguanas, chameleons, geckos, and skinks?

Answer 3

Lizards

Question 4

The majority of snakes move by _________________, where the snake bends into a series of curves as it keeps its body flat on the ground.

Answer 4

Lateral undulation

Question 5

Many thick-bodied snakes, such as African puff adders and Asian pythons, use ____________________, when stalking prey. In thus method of movement, the snake alternately stretches and shortens segments of its body in order to creep forward in a straight line.

Answer 5

Rectilinear movement

Question 6

Snakes often use __________________ to move across smooth surfaces or to climb through trees. The snake moves the front part of its body forward, coils it slightly to anchor it, and then pulls the back part forward. As the back part is pressed down, the front part moves forward again.

Answer 6

Concertina movement

Question 7

Desert-dwelling snakes, such as the North American sidewinder and carpet viper and horned viper of Africa, use a _______________ to cross loose land. As the snake supports its body with its head, tail, and two or three other points of contact, it lifts the remainder of its body off the ground and moves it sideways. The snake then moves its head and tail in line with its body and repeats the sequence.

Answer 7

Sidewinding movement

Question 8

What is the fastest know snake, that is a large, extremely venomous snake of Africa; estimates of its top speed over a short distance range from 7 to 20 miles per hour?

Answer 8

Black mamba

Question 9

Unlike mammals and birds, reptiles are considered ________________ animals because they regulate their temperature by external factors, such as lying in the sun when their body temperature is too low.

Answer 9

Cold-blooded

Question 10

The snake’s lower jaws are not attached directly to the skull but are attached to a separate ________________ which loosely attaches the skull to the lower jaw on each side. Thus cartilaginous bone is found in birds, amphibians, and fish as well as in all reptiles.

Answer 10

Quadrate bone

Question 11

When the snake retracts its tongue, theses scent particles are carried to the _________________, which are two tiny cavities in the roof of its mouth which contain nerve endings that are extremely sensitive to odor, and it provides a snake with an acute sense of smell, enabling it to follow the trail of its prey.

Answer 11

Jacobson’s organ

Question 12

What are zoologists who study reptiles and amphibians called?

Answer 12

Herpetologists

Question 13

What are some examples of the groups of snakes?

Answer 13

Blind snakes,
Constrictors,
Colubrids,
Elapids,
Vipers

Question 14

What are the three largest snakes?

Answer 14

Pythons,
Anacondas,
Boas

Question 15

What group of snakes are the three largest snakes-pythons, anacondas, boas-part of?

Answer 15

Constrictors

Question 16

What are the hollow or grooved venom-injecting teeth that scientists use to group poisonous snakes?

Answer 16

Fangs

Question 17

What group of snakes have immovable fangs in the front of the upper jaw, and are poisonous?

Answer 17

Elapids

Question 18

What is the largest Venezuela snake, and us 18 feet long?

Answer 18

King cobra

Question 19

Most venomous snakes of the temperate regions are __________________, which have long, movable fangs attached to the front of the upper jaw.

Answer 19

Viperids

Question 20

What kind of viper has a sensory depression, or pit, on each side of its head between the eye and the nostril?

Answer 20

Pit viper

Question 21

What kind of poison affects the nervous system, which controls the functioning of the heart, lungs, and muscles, and causes severe stinging, paralysis, and nausea, and the victim’s pulse becomes weak and rapid?

Answer 21

Neurotoxin

Question 22

What kind of poison damages blood vessels and destroys red blood cells, and causes a little pain at first, and then the victim later becomes sleepy and his breathing organs are partially paralyzed?

Answer 22

Hemotoxin

Question 23

Toxins can be treated by use of ______________, which are antibodies that attack the toxin molecules and neutralize their effects.

Answer 23

Antitoxins

Question 24

What is the cold-blooded reptile with a shell and toothless jaw, and refers to all members of Chelonia, whether aquatic or terrestrial?

Answer 24

Turtle

Question 25

What is the upper shell of the turtle that us fused to the turtle’s ribs and thoracic vertebrae?

Answer 25

Carapace

Question 26

What is the lower shell of the turtle that is fused to the clavicles?

Answer 26

Plastron

Question 27

Some species of turtles survive hot, dry periods by _________________, a state of summer dormancy or limited activity.

Answer 27

Estivation

Question 28

What term is generally reserved for land turtles with feet and claws suitable for terrestrial life?

Answer 28

Tortoise

Question 29

What are the large, thick-skinned, long-tailed, aquatic reptiles that are the largest living reptiles?

Answer 29

Crocodilians

Question 30

What is the only species in a family of its own, also called the Sphenodon, the word means “spiny,” and is a extremely rare, lizardlike reptile , has a crest of enlarged spines along its neck, back, and tail?

Answer 30

Tuatara

Question 31

What is the “third eye” of the tuatara that is situated on top of its brain, with a hole in the skull just above it, has no eye muscles and thus cannot focus, but instead its function is to sense radiation?

Answer 31

Parietal eye

Question 32

What is probably the most famous of all extinct creatures, and is a large group of extinct creatures that resemble reptiles in some ways?

Answer 32

Dinosaurs

Question 33

What are the main groups of dinosaurs?

Answer 33

Sauropods
Theropods
Ceratopians 
Pterodactyls
Sea creatures

Question 34

What group of vertebrates are coldblooded, have a three-chambered heart, live on both land and water, and exhibit a diversity of structure?

Answer 34

Amphibians

Question 35

What type of amphibian is a leaping, tailless amphibian with smooth skin?

Answer 35

Frog

Question 36

What type of amphibians are leaping, tailless amphibians which have rough, “warty” skin?

Answer 36

Toads

Question 37

What are three types of pigment cells called, that control the skin coloration of amphibians as well as many reptiles and fish?

Answer 37

Chromatophores

Question 38

In most species of frogs and toads, the female is clasped by the male in a process called ________________ (a Latin word meaning embrace) which helps the female expel eggs.

Answer 38

Amplexus

Question 39

What are the two additional teeth that extend from the roof of the frog’s mouth?

Answer 39

Vomerine teeth

Question 40

In a frog, the pancreas us held in place between the stomach and the first fold of the small intestine by a special membrane called the:

Answer 40

Mesentery

Question 41

The male salamander deposits sperm in a gelatinous structure, called a:

Answer 41

Spermatophore

Question 42

A few species of amphibians never metamorphose but remain in the water as permanent larvae, and retain larval characteristics throughout life, even after becoming sexually mature. Thus condition is called:

Answer 42

Paedomorphosis

Question 43

What is the largest living amphibian, is aquatic, and can exceed five feet in length?

Answer 43

Japanese giant salamander

Question 44

What term designated the terrestrial form of various members of the family Salamandridae?

Answer 44

Eft

Question 45

What term refers to the aquatic form of various members of the family Salamandridae?

Answer 45

Newt

Question 46

What are the slender, burrowing, wormlike amphibians, which range in size from 7 to 53 inches long, and are found in the warm, moist climates of South America, Africa, and southeast Asia?

Answer 46

Caecilians