Lecture 15: Anatomy of Reptiles and Birds

What do ear ossicles look like?

stapes (columella) and sometimes extracolumella

What is extracolumella?

cartilaginous structure accompanying the stapes

What do snakes lack in their ears?

external ear opening and tympanic membrane

What protects the external orifice (ear) on birds?

barbless contour feather (ear coverts)

What is an operculum auris?

small fold of the skin and muscle that can cover the opening

What does the lower eyelid have?

fibroelastic tarsal plate

What is the main source of tear production in birds?

harderian gland

What is the beak on a bird?

keratinous rhamphotheca

What are the two parts of the beak?

rhinotheca and gnathotheca

What does the beak contain in both the maxillary and mandibular beak?

sensory structures like papillae

What is the choanal opening?

internal nares opening on the dorsal aspect of the mouth

Do sauropsids have soft palate?

no

1 multiple choice option

WHat taxa have secondary hard palates?

turtles and crocs

What do reptiles have in their nasal passages?

olfactory turbinates ONLY

What are the four quadrants of snakes?

1. head, esophagus, heart, trachea

2. gas-exchanging lung, liver, stomach

3. gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, gonads, lung, intestine

4. SI to LI, cecum, kidneys, cloaca, hemipenes

What are flight feathers called?

remiges

Where does the pectoralis originate?

sternum and sternal keel

Where does the pectoralis insert?

medial pectoral crest

Why does the abdominal region balloon in a snake?

air sac

How do crocs ventilate?

intercostal muscles and diaphragmaticus

Where does the diaphragmaticus attach?

pelvis to liver

Which side do you see the trachea?

offset to the right

Where does the trachea enter in swans and cranes?

sternum

What is a possible site of sexual dimorphism?

syrinx

Why is there two toned voices of penguins?

bronchial syrinx and tracheal septum

What locks the avian respiratory system in place?

ribs/vertebrae and horizontal septum

What rotates ventrally for ventilation in the bird?

sternum

What species have unidirectional flow?

birds, crocs, monitor lizards, iguanas