Reptiles & Mammals

Reptiles

While some types of reptiles, like snakes, alligators, and crocodiles, often have a bad reputation due to their venom, as in snakes, or their aggressive behavior, as in all three groups, reptiles are important both ecologically and economically, as we will see later in this lesson. They also possess some unique traits and interesting behaviors, which we will also explore in greater detail.

Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane. Modern reptiles inhabit every continent with the exception of Antarctica, and are represented by four living orders: Squamata (lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids or “worm- lizards”), Crocodilia (crocodiles, caimans, and alligators) Testudines (turtles and tortoises) and Sphenodontia (tuatara).

Instructions - complete the following

Lesson

Class Reptilia

Notes - see Notes for Chp 30, 31, 32

Watch the following

Snake Digestion (sqeemish folks look away)

Blood Squirting Defense Mechanism

Kimodo Dragon Bite is Deadly

Anaconda Ovoviviparous Snake

Effects of Snake Venom

Turtle Dissection

Miller & Levine pg 796-805

Mammals

What’s a mammal? It is easy to forget about the biodiversity of mammals, but these animals range from bats and cats and rats to dogs and monkeys and whales. They walk and run and swim and fly. They live in the ocean, they fly in the sky, they walk on the prairies and run in the savannah. What allows them to live in such diverse environments? Well, mammals have some specialized traits which no other group of animals has. There is a tremendous amount of diversity within the group in terms of reproduction, habitat, and adaptation for living in their different habitats. It is because of some of their traits that mammals have been of benefit to people and also play an important ecological role.

Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals with a number of unique characteristics. In most mammals, these include:

• The presence of hair and sweat glands

• Glands specialized to produce milk (mammary glands)

• Three middle ear bones

• A four-chambered heart

Instructions - complete the following

Don't miss the in class lesson.

Lesson

Introduction to the Mammals

Diversity of the Mammals

Notes - see Notes for Chp 30, 31, 32

Watch the following