Describe the general characters of class Reptilia with examples.

Reptilia

It is a class of Vertebrata. Some of the characteristics of Reptilia are-

1. The word ‘repre’ means ‘to crawl’, this class refers to their crawling mode of locomotion. These are creeping vertebrates.
2. These are mostly terrestrial animals.
3. These are cold-blooded animals (poikilotherms) with three-chambered hearts except crocodiles which have four-chambered hearts.
4. The body is covered by scales.
5. The body is divisible into the head, neck, trunk, and tail.
6. They don't have external ear openings. The tympanum represents the ear which is small or depressed.
7. The fertilization is internal and they lay eggs (oviparous). Eggs are covered with tough coverings.
8. Limbs are two pairs if present and are pentadactyl i.e., five-toed with clawed digits, some snakes and lizards do not possess limbs.
9. Examples are lizards, snakes, turtles, and tortoises, etc.