herps vocab and diagrams

Top

Carapace

Bottom

Plastron

Pouched cheeks

Venomus

Non-pouched cheeks

Nonvenomous

1

Cranial Crests

2

Parotoid Gland

3

Tarsus (shank)

4

Dorsolateral folds

5

Femoral area (thigh)

6

Toes with digital discs

7

Toes without digital discs

8

Tympanum

skull

pterygoid

scapular

radio-ulna

humerus

vertebra

sacral vertebra

tibiofibula

femur

tarsus

metatarsus

phalanges

maxillary

orbital cavity

quadratojugal

prootic

phalange

occipital lateral

carpus

metacarpus

urostyle

ilium

ischium

calcanium

talus

Form?

Paedomorphic

Form?

Non-Padeomorphic

“normal”

Clade Lissamphibia Characteristics

• non-amniotes

• scaleless

• cold-blooded, amphibious animals

• larvae mature in water & breathe through gills

• undergo metamorphosis

• adults breathe air through lungs AND skin (sub-cutaneous respiration)

• oviparous, ovoiviparous

Order Urodela

Salamanders

Order Anura

Frogs & Toads

Clade Sauropsida includes

turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodilians, and birds

Order Testudines

Turtles

Clade Lepidosauromorpha

Order Squamata

Lizards & Snakes

Suborder Serpentes

Snakes

Clade Archosauromorpha

Order Crocodylia

Crocodiles & Alligators

Fossorial

ground dwelling

Paedomorphic

having traits of juvenile characteristics

• usually in reference to external gills, fan-like tails

Costal Grooves

vertical skin flaps on sides of body

Nasolabial Grooves

narrow grooves between each nostril and upper lip

Dorsal-Lateral Folds

lateral ridges running parallel on body

Cranial Crest

ossified ridge surrounding eyes

Parotoid glands

poison glands on shoulder

Femoral Pores

emit pheromones, found on ventral side of body/on legs of some lizards

Caudal Anatomy

self-amputation of tail, used in escaping predators

Lamellae

thin plate like structures on feet for gripping

Spectacle

transparent scale over eye in some Squamates

Nictitating Membrane

transparent 3rd eyelid that covers the eye but still allows for vision in Testudines & Crocodylians

Hemipenes

paired male organ used in copulation in Squamates; many have hooks or lamallae, can be forked

Facultative Parthenogenesis

‘sometimes parthenogenic’; under appropriate conditions, some species are able to produce viable offspring without males

Oviparous

external egg-laying

Ovoviviparous

internal egg-laying and then give live birth