1. What is a Reptile?

1

What do turtles, alligators, crocodiles, snakes, and lizards have in common?

2

They are all reptiles

3

Vocabulary:

reptiles

Cold-blooded vertebrate that breathes air with lungs

Remember: Vertebrates are animals with backbones

4

Most reptiles live on land, but some live in water, and some live in both

land and water

All reptiles have lungs to get oxygen they need by breathing air

5

The air mixes with blood in its lungs then the heart moves the blood around

the body

But must swim to the surface to fill their lungs with air

6

Water reptiles can stay underwater for long periods of time

which means their body temperature changes with the environment around

them7

Reptiles are cold-blooded

Reptiles can be found living in warm and hot climates throughout the world

8

For this reason, reptiles cannot live in the coldest places on Earth

Snakes and a few lizards do not have legs

9

Most other reptiles have four legs which have 5 toes with claws

A reptile’s skin is dry, thick, and waterproof

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The skin is covered with scales

11

Vocabulary:

scales

Thin hard plates that cover the body of most reptiles

Some reptiles, like snakes, must shed their skins in order to grow

12

Vocabulary:

shed

Get rid of skin in order to grow

Most reptiles reproduce by laying eggs on land

13

Many lay eggs with tough, leathery shells; but some have hard shells

The young of some reptiles do not hatch from eggs but are born alive

14

Most young reptiles care for themselves as soon as they are born

15

but some protect their young for up to 12 weeks