6 Characteristics of Reptile Animals, Know Their Privileges and Uniqueness

Characteristics of Reptile. Reptiles distinguish these animals from amphibians, fish, and mammals. The term “reptile” comes from the Latin word meaning creeping animal. Reptiles are found in the environment. These animals such as lizards, lizards, snakes, and so on.

Not infrequently reptiles are also used as pets such as turtles, iguanas, or geckos. The characteristics of reptiles are different from other types of animals. For those of you who are reptile lovers or want to keep these cold-blooded animals, it is important to know the characteristics of reptile animals.

Six Characteristics of Reptile Animals

Reptiles have unique characteristics that make reptile animals easily recognizable. Reptiles have different characteristics from other animals. The characteristics of these reptiles include body shape, reproduction, breathing, and self-defense. Following are the characteristics of reptiles that have succeeded ZooLoverz, summarized from various sources.

1. Skin Covered With Scales

An easily recognizable feature of a reptile animal is its skin. Reptile scales, which develop from the epidermis, are hard plates made of keratin protein. Scutes, like tortoise shells and crocodile shells, have the same appearance and function as scales but are bony structures that form in the deeper layers of the skin.

2. Cold-Blooded Metabolism

Most reptiles are cold blooded vertebrates. Reptiles do not have the psychological ability to regulate their body temperature and must depend on the external environment.

The body temperature of cold blooded animals is determined by the temperature of their environment. Because reptiles are cold-blooded, or ectothermic, they must bask in the sun to increase their internal body temperature.

3. Respiratory system

One of the most important characteristics of animals is how efficiently they collect and utilize oxygen, the molecular fuel that supports metabolic processes. All reptiles, including snakes, turtles, crocodiles and lizards, are equipped with lungs, although different types of reptiles use different modes of respiration.

4. Self defense

Reptiles have a variety of ways to defend themselves from harm including biting, hissing, camouflaging and dodging. Many small reptiles, such as snakes and lizards that live on the ground or in water, are susceptible to predation by all types of carnivorous animals.

So avoidance is one of the most common forms of defense in reptiles. At the first sign of danger, most of the snakes and lizards crawled away into the bush, and the turtles and crocodiles would plunge into the water and drown out of sight.

5. Quadruped and Vertebrates

All reptiles are tetrapods which means they have as many as four limbs like crocodiles or are descended from four-legged animals such as snakes.

Vertebrates

More broadly, reptiles are vertebrates, meaning they have backbones that have spinal cords that run the length of their bodies. This characteristic is shared by birds, fish, mammals and amphibians. In evolutionary terms, reptiles are intermediaries between amphibians and mammals.

6. Reproduction of Egg Laying and Childbirth

Most reptiles lay eggs. Reptiles are amniotes which means that the eggs, produced by the female, contain an elastic sac in which the embryo develops. The egg shell protects and keeps the embryo from drying out and allows gas exchange.

Vivipar

Several types of reptiles are viviparous such as the squamate lizard. Viviparity and ovoviviparity have evolved in many extinct reptiles and squamates. Vivipar is one way of reproducing animals by giving birth.