Marine Reptiles & Birds

Marine Reptiles

Includes crocodiles, turtles, lizards, and snakes; have amniotic eggs, advanced circulatory systems, strong kidneys, and scaly skin

Amniotic Egg

An egg covered by a protective shell and containing a liquid-filled sac in which the embryo develops; structures inside allow for gas exchange, waste removal, and food supply (yolk); beneficial adaptation that allows for longer developmental periods with no larval stages and increased protection from predators

Marine Crocodiles

The largest living reptiles, strong swimmers that feed on fish, terrestrial animals, and sometimes humans; breed in rivers during the wet season; male on male competition over territories; females stay with their young until they can swim

Sea Turtles

7 species; inhabit shallow tropical and subtropical coastal waters; covered by a protective shell fused to their skeletons; modified front limbs as flippers for swimming and back limbs as paddles for steering and digging nests; generally solitary creatures except during mating; breathe air but can remain submerged for up to 3 hours; all carnivorous except green sea turtles (herbivores); have salt glands to excrete excess salt; mate at sea, experience breeding cycles of 1-5 years, females lays eggs in nests on land; most are endangered due to human activities

Sea Turtle Shells

Outer layer made of keratin, inner layer made of bones; dorsal surface is the carapace, ventral surface is the plastron; Leatherback turtles lack a shell and instead have a thick hide with small bony plates

Marine Iguana

Only marine lizard, live in Galapagos Islands; dark coloration allows them to absorb more heat energy to survive in cold waters; few natural predators; herbivores that graze on seaweed; have salt glands to excrete excess salt; scent receptors on their tongue; males compete for territory and mates

Sea Snakes

65 species, most remain close to shore; includes true sea snakes, sea kraits, file snakes, mangrove snakes, and salt marsh snakes; adaptations for marine living include absence or reduced scales, laterally compressed tail for swimming, nostrils higher on the head with specialized valves to prevent water intake, one long, single lung, and frequent shedding of the skin to remove algae, barnacles, and bryozoans; feed mainly on fish, fish eggs, and eels; highly developed vision; have salt glands to excrete excess salt; highly toxic; hunted for their skins and for food for humans

Hemipenes

paired penises found in snakes and lizards; each one works independently and only 1 is used during mating

Marine Birds

Closely related to reptiles; about 250 species are marine; they are homeothermic, have high metabolism, strong muscles, quick responses, and superior coordination for flying, 4-chambered heart, well developed sight and hearing, and salt glands to remove excess salt

Shorebirds

AKA waders; Live in intertidal zone; includes oystercatchers, plovers, turnstones, sandpipers, curlews, avocets, stilts, and herons

Family Laridae

Found mostly along shores and seaports; have webbed webbed feet and oil glands to waterproof their feathers; have enormous appetites and are non-selective feeders (will eat almost anything); includes gulls, terns, skuas, jaegers, and skimmers

Homeothermic

Can maintain a constant body temperature

Skimmers

AKA scissorbills; have vertical pupil slits and flexible lower jaw that extends past the upper bill which they stick below the surface of the water while flying to catch prey

Family Alcidae

Includes auks, puffins, and murres; more closely related to gulls than penguins despite outward appearance (due to convergent evolution); have countershading colors, are agile swimmers and awkward on land, and feed on fish, squid, and shrimp; gather in large colonies on cliffs for breeding

Convergent Evolution

Process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments

Order Pelecaniformes

Have 4 webbed toes, some have hooked upper mandible, many are brightly colored; most found in coastal areas and inland waters; includes pelicans, boobies, gannets, cormorants, and frigatebirds

Gular Pouches

Sac of skin that hangs between the flexible bones of the pelican's lower mandible; well suited for catching lots of prey, but fills up easily with water which they drain out before consuming their prey

Order Procellariiformes

AKA tubenoses due to tubular nostrils connected to their nasal cavities; have a large gland in their stomach that produces an oil used to feed their young and defend themselves from predators; includes albatrosses and petrels

Penguins (Order Sphenisciformes)

2 live in Antarctica, the rest on barren rocky islands in the Antarctic Sea; well adapted to swimming in cold water due to densely packed feathers, flipper-like wings, webbed feet, and torpedo shaped bodies; feed on fish, krill, and squid; prey for leopard seals, killer whales, sharks, and skuas

Crop

A digestive organ in birds that stores food; adults use it to hold onto food for themselves and their young