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Class Reptilla
Total Species 10,026 (2016)
The study of reptiles together with amphibians is called herpetology.
Reptile Characterists
Reptiles are a tetrapod vertebrate animal of a class that are distinguished by being air-breathers with lungs, cold-blooded, a heart with two atria and usually a single ventricle. Reptiles are distinguished from amphibians in that reptiles do not have an aquatic larval stage.
Reptiles also have either dry scaly skin or bony plates and a bony exo-skeleton.
Most reptiles are oviparous, typically laying soft-shelled eggs on land although several species of squamates are viviparous, which is bringing forth live young that have developed inside the body of the parent.
Reptile Size
The smallest extant reptile is the tiny gecko, (Sphaerodactylus ariasae) which grows up to 0.7 inch (17 mm).
The largest reptile is the saltwater crocodile, (Crocodylus porosus) growing up to 19.7 feet (6 m) in length and can weigh more than 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg).
Orders of Class Reptilla
Crocodilia (alligators, caimans, crocodiles, and gharials) 25 species
Sphenodontia (tuataras) 2 species in New Zealand
Squamata (amphisbaenids [worm-lizards], lizards and snakes) 9,600 species
Testudines (turtles and tortoises) 400 species
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