Reptile Adaptions

Question 1

List the groups contained with the umbrella term reptile.

Answer 1

Chelonia, Squamata, Tuataras, Crocodillians

Question 2

How is nitrogenous waste of reptiles excreted ?

Answer 2

Primarily as uric acid, enabling conservation of water

Question 3

Describe reptile skin composition.

Answer 3

Covered in scales
Acts as barrier to water loss
Few cutaneous glands- no respiration through skin

Question 4

How do all reptiles respire ?

Answer 4

All have lungs

Ventilation occurs via rib contraction and relaxation

Question 5

Describe the adaption of the snakes lung

Answer 5

The left lung is reduced or absent

Adaption to long thin body

Question 6

Turtles cannot use their ribs to ventilate their lungs

How do they breathe ?

Answer 6

The lungs are connected to the visceral muscles that contract
This forces viscera against the lungs to expel air
Other muscles pull the viscera back to expand the lungs

Question 7

Give the adaption of aquatic turtles that enables them to extract oxygen from water

Answer 7

Adapted mucous membranes lining the mouth

Question 8

How do sea snakes and soft shelled turtles respire under water ?

Answer 8

Via cutaneous respiration (through the skin)

Question 9

Retiles are E3ctotherms or Endotherms ?

Answer 9

Ecotherms, require an external source of body warmth

Question 10

How do reptiles regulate their metabolic heat ?

Answer 10

Basking
Food consumption
Catching prey

Question 11

List the benefits of Ecothermy

Answer 11

Enables survival on low/ sporadic food input

Low metabolic rate can be related to longevity

Question 12

List the disadvantages of Ecothermy

Answer 12

Slow reproduction (slow meta.)
Overharvesting can mean rapid extinction
Excluded from cold environments

Question 13

List 2 species which have evolved for flight

Answer 13

Flying geckos- Webbed feet to increase surface area

Gliding lizards- flaps of skin extend into wings

Question 14

Why did leglessness evolve ?

Answer 14

Enables movement thought small spaces
Burrowing
Enables coiling
Arboreal lifestyle (spreads weight evenly across branches)

Question 15

Why is coiling a useful behaviour ?

Answer 15

Can be used as a means of defence, thermoregulation, prey constriction

Question 16

List the methods of snake locomotion

Answer 16

Lateral undulation
Sidewinding
Concertina
Rectilinear

Question 17

How does lateral undulation create movement ?

Answer 17

The snake moves left and right, as well as creating posterior moving waves which push against contact points (rocks, twigs)

Question 18

What is the most common form of snake movement ?

Answer 18

Lateral undulation

Question 19

Which snake locomotion technique doesn’t involve lateral movement ?

Answer 19

Rectilinear
The snake instead lifts its belly snakes forward before replacing them down
Used by large pythons and boas

Question 20

Which snake movement is used in tunnels ?

Answer 20

Concertina, the latter half of the body grips the tunnel wall while the anterior stretches

Question 21

List the 3 adaptions of sea snakes to their aquatic environment

Answer 21

Flattened paddle like tails
Nostrils with water excluding valves
Highly venomous, aposematic colourations

Question 22

How do geckos walk up walls ?

Answer 22

The tips of their setae release van der waals forces (electrical) which enable them to stick to the substrate

Question 23

Geckos leave behind a trail of hydrophobic phospholipids,

Why ?

Answer 23

Aid the gecko when walking on moist surfaces

Prevent erosion of setae

Question 24

All turtles are Oviparous, what does this mean ?

Answer 24

They lay eggs

Question 25

Describe the life cycle of turtle eggs

Answer 25

Mother excavates nest in sand No parental care, F leaves Clutch size from 10 to 100 Embryonic development 40-60 days

Question 26

Why do turtle eggs hatch simultaneously ?

Answer 26

To prevent a predator waiting by the nest and feeding on them one by one as they hatch

Question 27

Describe the life cycle of crocodile eggs

Answer 27

Female constructs nest of rotting vegetation- heat Lay eggs above water, prevent drowning Female guards eggs till hatch- 65 days

Question 28

What do crocodile offspring do when they are born ?

Answer 28

Make grunting noises, prompting the female to carry the young to the waters edge

Question 29

Crocodiles or turtles provide the most parental care ?

Answer 29

Crocodiles | Remain with offspring through development, place them in water and protect them from predation

Question 30

Most reptiles are carnivorous, state which ones are not.

Answer 30

Some tortoises and iguanas

Question 31

What is the point of a secondary pallet in a crocodile ?

Answer 31

It is a shelf in the roof of the crocodiles mouth which seperates the nasal and mouth passages Enables prey to be caught without water entering the respiratory tract

Question 32

What are dermal pressure receptors ? | In which group of reptiles are they found ?

Answer 32

Crocodilians Bundles of nerves which respond to disturbances in the water Enables prey detection

Question 33

Dermal pressure receptors are similar to what in fish ?

Answer 33

Lateral line

Question 34

Compare where dermal pressure receptors are found on crocodiles, caimans and alligators

Answer 34

Crocodiles- every scale of body | Caiman and alligators- only on jaws

Question 35

List organisms which have a Vomeronasal 'Jacobsons' organ

Answer 35

Snakes (most pronounced) Elephants Turtles Salamanders

Question 36

What is the function of the VJ organ in snakes ?

Answer 36

Short-ranging sensing Snakes tongue collects odour particles and then transfers particles to olfactory chamber the VJ organ processes these particles

Question 37

To snakes jaws ever de attach ?

Answer 37

Never, they are permanently hinged However the jaw has elastic ligments that enables the mouth to spread Important in food manipulation

Question 38

What is lizard size restricted by ?

Answer 38

The presence of a pectoral girdle

Question 39

Do snakes have a size restriction ?

Answer 39

No as have lost the pectoral girdle

Question 40

Snakes can detect minute changes in the infrared spectrum, True or False ?

Answer 40

True, Enables location of endothermic prey. | Detected via pit organs

Question 41

List the snakes which can detect prey via infrared spectrum

Answer 41

Pit vipers Boas Pythons

Question 42

Give the functions of venom

Answer 42

Dispatch of large prey Deterrent Aid digestion

Question 43

Where is venom produced and stored ?

Answer 43

Produced by oral glands | Stored in venom gland

Question 44

How does neurotoxic venom work ?

Answer 44

Causes death due to paralysis of respiratory muscle

Question 45

How does Haemolytic venom work ?

Answer 45

Breaks down blood cells

Question 46

Which species have venom ?

Answer 46

Advanced snakes, monitor lizards, iguanas

Question 47

What is Caudal autotomy ?

Answer 47

A means of predator avoidance | Organism sheds tail when grasped by predator, wriggles creating a distraction, enabling escape

Question 48

What is the disadvantage of caudal autotomy ?

Answer 48

Reduces escape performance (speed and stability) Diverts energy from reproduction into tail regrowth Reduces male social status

Question 49

State the molecule that has a key role In reptilian camouflage

Answer 49

Melanin

Question 50

Give a species which uses mimicry camouflage

Answer 50

Non-venomous milk snakes | Mimic Venomous coral snake

Question 51

Colouration of reptiles is just to avoid predation True of False ?

Answer 51

False, used in mate selection. Chameleons, rapid colour changes to challenge other males and attract females