Reptiles are one of the oldest creatures that are stepping on our planet. Extinct dinosaurs, by the way, were also reptiles, and modern lizards and crocodiles are also partly their descendants. However, there is an opinion that mammals and reptiles once descended from a common ancestor. And how it was in reality – who knows?
In the 18-19 centuries, biologists referred reptiles and amphibians to a common group called “reptiles”.
Reptiles have more in common with birds than any other animals.
On Earth, there are about 9,400 species of reptiles, of which only 77 are represented on the territory of Russia.
The largest terrestrial animals in the history of the planet, dinosaurs, are ancient reptiles. Their descendants in the modern world, oddly enough, are birds, not reptiles.
Most reptiles combine features of the simplest amphibians and more highly developed vertebrates.
Chameleons are well known for their ability to change color depending on the circumstances – stripes and blemishes can appear and disappear on his body, skin color can quickly change from light yellow to purple and back, and so on. It was believed that so chameleons are protected from predators, but scientists have proved that the color change is needed by these animals, primarily to communicate with their congeners.
Reptiles, leading the daily life, see the world in the yellow-orange spectrum.
Many reptiles have a third eye – it is hidden under a thin skin and serves as a reptile for orientation in space, determining the intensity of sunlight and the lines of force of the Earth’s magnetic field. Probably, the parietal eye also performs more complex functions, but scientists do not yet know which ones.
The eyes of some snakes and lizards are closed with a solid transparent membrane, replacing them with eyelids.
Snakes do not have eardrums, so they hear very badly – these reptiles perceive sounds through fluctuations of water or land.
Turtles feel even the lightest touch to their shell.
Although all modern reptiles are cold-blooded animals, tegu lizards have learned in the mating season to trigger in their bodies a special chemical reaction, artificially raising the temperature in the body to attract partners.
In Australia, 40 thousand years ago there lived land crocodiles, which did not go into the water at all.
Most reptiles can only produce primitive sounds – for example, hiss or whistle.
The most massive snake on the planet is an anaconda, the length of which can reach almost 7 meters. Weigh this reptile from 30 to 70 kilograms. At the same time, the longest snake on Earth is a reticulated python, which grows to 7.5 meters.
The length of the chameleon tongue can reach 50 centimeters.
The bones of the skulls of many snakes are mobile, so that their owners can open their mouths extremely wide and swallow large prey.
Turtles appeared on Earth earlier than dinosaurs.
Most reptiles are useless parents. They absolutely do not care about their offspring and rely on the independence of the babies who have come into the world. An exception to this rule is unless turtles.
Crocodiles do not know how to chew – they tear their victims to pieces, and then swallow the resulting pieces. They even have a special tooth, designed to dismember the prey.
Throughout life, alligators grow more than 3,000 new teeth, replacing broken and fallen out teeth.
The temperature in the place where the reptile eggs were deposited affects the sex of the embryos in them.
