reptile

Table of Contents

Introduction
General features
- Importance
- Size range
- Distribution and ecology
  - North temperate zone
  - Central and South America
  - Asia
  - Australia
  - Africa
Natural history
- Life cycle and life history
  - Courtship and fertilization
  - Embryonic development and parental care
- Growth and longevity
Behaviour
- Defense
  - Avoidance and noise
  - Body form and posturing
  - Display of colour
  - Striking and biting
  - Spitting
  - Use of the tail
  - Balling
  - Odours
- Feeding habits
- Locomotion
  - Walking and crawling
  - Clinging and climbing
  - Swimming
  - Flying
Form and function
- External covering
- Internal features
  - Skeletal system
  - Skull and dentition
  - Nervous system
  - Circulatory system
  - Respiratory system
  - Digestive and urogenital systems
- Sense organs
  - Sight
  - Hearing
  - Chemoreception
- Thermal relationships
Evolution and paleontology
- Historical development
- Fossil distribution
Classification
- Distinguishing taxonomic features
- Annotated classification
- Critical appraisal

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

black girdle-tailed lizard (Cordylus nigra)

What's the difference between turtles and tortoises?

For Students

reptile summary

reptile

animal

Also known as: Reptilia

Written by George R. Zug, Herndon G. Dowling•All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 19, 2024 • Article History

Key People:: Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède

Related Topics:: dinosaur; lizard; snake; turtle; Crocodylidae

See all related content

reptile, any member of the class Reptilia, the group of air-breathing vertebrates that have internal fertilization, amniotic development, and epidermal scales covering part or all of their body. The major groups of living reptiles—the turtles (order Testudines), tuatara (order Rhynchocephalia [Sphenodontida]), lizards and snakes (order Squamata), and crocodiles (order Crocodylia, or Crocodilia)—account for over 8,700 species. Birds (class Aves) share a common ancestor with crocodiles in subclass Archosauria and are technically one lineage of reptiles, but they are treated separately (see bird). The extinct reptiles included an even more diverse group of animals that ranged from the marine plesiosaurs, pliosaurs, ...(100 of 17436 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.