Vocabulary Vocabulary ReviewReview

Ch 41 - ReptilesCh 41 - Reptiles

One of a varied group of mostly

extinct reptiles that lived from about 235 million years ago to

about 66 million years ago

Dinosaur

An explanation for the mass extinction of

most of the dinosaurs; holds that a giant

asteroid struck Earth and caused

catastrophic climate change about 66 million years agoAsteroid

impact hypothesis

A type of egg that is produced by reptiles, birds, and egg-laying

mammals and that contains a large amount

of yolk; usually surrounded by a leathery or hard shell within which

the embryo and its embryonic membranes

developAmniotic egg

In mammals, birds, and reptiles, the membrane that

contains a developing

embryo and its surrounding fluid

Amnion

The membrane that is attached to a

vertebrate embryo and that encloses the yolk and thus stores energy

reserves for the developing embryo

Yolk sac

A membranous sac that acts as an organ

of respiration and nutrition for the

embryo; in humans, its blood vessels become the blood vessels of the umbilical cord

Allantois

The outer membrane that surrounds an

embryo

Chorion

The white of an egg, composed primarily of the protein albumin

Albumen

A hard protein that forms hair, bird feathers,

nails, and horns

Keratin

A thick wall between the right and left chambers

of the heart

Septum

Any of the tiny air cells of the lungs

where oxygen and carbon dioxide are

exchanged

Alveolus

An olfactory sac that opens into

the mouth and is highly developed

in reptiles

Jacobson’s organ

The processes by which the body

regulates its internal

temperature

Thermoregulation

An organism that needs sources of heat outside of

itself

Ectotherm

In egg-laying amniotes, a

reproductive method in which the

female’s reproductive tract

encloses each egg in a tough, protective

shellOviparity

In amniotes, a reproductive method

wherein shelled eggs are produced,

develop, and sometimes hatch inside the body of

the motherOvoviviparity

In amniotes, a reproductive method

in which eggs that lack shells are produced

and develop inside the body of the mother,

who then gives birth to the offspring

Viviparity

The structure that attaches a developing fetus to the uterus and

that enables the exchange of nutrients,

wastes, and gases between the mother

and the fetus

Placenta

A shield-like plate that covers the

cephalothorax of some crustaceans

and reptiles

Carapace

The bottom, or ventral, portion of

a turtle’s shell

Plastron

The ability of an organism to drop a

body part and, usually, to

regenerate a new one

Autotomy

A snake that kills its prey by

crushing and suffocating it

Constrictor

A venomous snake that has two small, fixed fangs in the front of the mouth

Elapid

A venomous snake that has two large,

mobile fangs at the front of the

mouth

Viper